§ Mrs. Bridget PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans she has to extend the provision of statutory maternity benefits to adoptive mothers.
§ Mr. HagueI ahve been asked to reply. Statutory maternity pay and maternity allowance provide a measure of earnings replacement to help working women give up work around the time of the birth in the interests of their own and their unborn baby's health. There are no plans to extend maternity benefits to mothers of adopted children.