§ Mrs. Wiseasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women have been excluded from eligibility for maternity allowance under the new arrangements as compared with the former; and what are the savings to the Exchequer.
§ Mr. PortilloIt is estimated that some 94,000 women who would have been entitled to maternity allowance under the former scheme will not qualify for either statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance under the new arrangements. These will almost entirely be women who were not working when their pregnancies began and for whom an income-replacement benefit was never intended. About 20,000 women with recent work records will qualify for SMP or the allowance for the first time.
It is estimated that the new arrangements will result in a net reduction in the publicsector borrowing requirement of £13 million in 1987–88 and £23 million in 1988–89.