§ Mrs. Wiseasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what would be the cost of doubling the maternity grant;
(2) how many mothers in 1976 did not qualify for maternity grant;
(3) what is the real value of the maternity grant at present as compared with its value when it was introduced.
§ Mr. OrmeOn the basis of the movement in the retail price index between November 1969, when maternity grant was increased to its present level of £25, and February 1977, the latest date available, the real value of the maternity grant is now £9.99. The cost of doubling the present rate of the grant would be £16 million in 1977–78. Figures for the number of confinements in Great Britain which did not attract maternity grant are not yet available for 1976, but the figure for 1975 is approximately 36,000.