Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of temporarily increasing the rate of (a) statutory maternity pay and (b) maternity allowance.

The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has a statutory obligation to review Statutory Maternity Pay, benefits including Maternity Allowance, and pensions annually. The review will commence shortly, and her decisions will be announced to Parliament in the normal way later this year. Any new rates of benefits/pensions will become payable from April 2023.

There are no plans to make a temporary increase to the rate of Statutory Maternity Pay or Maternity Allowance.