§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security (1) what is the average amount of maternity leave taken, in weeks, by women in receipt of statutory maternity pay;
(2) if he will estimate the proportion of women in receipt of statutory maternity pay who receive the lower rate only throughout the maternity pay period;
(3) if he will publish figures showing the number and proportion of women in receipt of statutory maternity pay who receive less than the maximum 18 weeks' statutory maternity pay entitlement.
§ Mr. JackDetailed statistics about statutory maternity pay are not collected centrally from employers. It is not possible, therefore, to provide sufficiently accurate estimates of the information requested at this time. It is hoped that the information will be available to allow such estimates to be made when a survey of maternity rights being carried out by the Policy Studies Institute is published later this year.
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security if he will estimate how many women lost entitlement to the earnings-related element of statutory maternity pay as a result of the 1987 changes which changed the qualifying week to the 15th week before expected confinement.
§ Mr. JackInformation is not available of the numbers of women who either gained or lost the earnings element of statutory maternity pay (SMP) as a result of the 1987 change in the qualifying week.