Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if his Department will make an assessment of the potential merits of improving the current Statutory Maternity Pay arrangements for people who work in the Charity Sector.

Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) exists to provide a measure of financial security to help women take time off work in the later stages of their pregnancy and in the months following childbirth, in the interests of their own and their baby's health and wellbeing.

It is available to all women who meet the earnings and employment test, regardless of which sector they work in. On that basis, there are currently no plans to make an assessment of the potential merits of improving the current SMP arrangements for people who work in the Charity Sector.