§ 11. Mr. Boothasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will take steps to exempt a pregnant, woman, who is deserted by her husband and does not qualify for maternity allowance, from the requirement for either her or her husband to have at least 26 flat-rate contributions paid or credited in the test year in order to obtain entitlement to maternity grant.
§ Mr. DeanNo. Maternity grant is one of the national insurance benefits and as such can be paid only provided the necessary conditions are satisfied. We have no evidence that the conditions give rise to any general difficulty.