Maternity Allowance: Adoption

(asked on 9th October 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential merits of extending statutory maternity allowance to adopting parents.


Answered by
Justin Tomlinson Portrait
Justin Tomlinson
This question was answered on 16th October 2018

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP), and Maternity Allowance (MA), are paid to women to replace earnings to help them take time off work before and after their baby is born. They are primarily paid in the interests of women and their babies’ health and wellbeing. It would not therefore be appropriate to extend maternity benefits to adopting parents.

Statutory Adoption Pay is available for employees who take time off to adopt a child. Prospective adopters and children they intend to adopt are also entitled to an assessment of their family’s needs. This includes a range of support including discretionary means-tested financial support, advice, information, counselling, and support services.

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