Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of extending statutory (a) maternity pay, (b) paternity pay and (c) sick pay to self-employed people.

The Government is looking at what more could be done to support the self-employed, but do not have plans to extend Statutory Payments to self-employed people. Statutory payments are paid by employers to qualifying employees.