Thanks for your reply.
The current situation isn't ideal. With the government touting the benefits of a family-friendly society and a stable home environment it would make sense that, when someone decides to start a family, either the the family should (ideally) be able to live off the earnings of just one parent or else the government should help to make up some of the financial shortfall.
Unfortunately, as it stands, neither of those options is true; both my partner and I are higher tax band earners and yet we're going to find it difficult financially. Therefore it's very likely that the majority of this country's families must be in a similar situation. We don't expect hand-outs for the sake of having children but, at the very least, there needs to be some sort of provision to help us fill the money gap ourselves (either through early advice, overtime hours, or part-time hours after the birth) if the government or company won't. I've had no advice and I'm not allowed to work overtime before or part-time after the birth.