§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in Dewsbury claimed the maternity grant in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. MajorInformation is not available in the precise form requested, but in the 12 months ending on 31 December 1986, 986 claims for maternity grant were made at the Department's Dewsbury local office which covers the town, although the boundaries are not conterminous.
§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in Halifax claimed the maternity grant in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. MajorInformation is not available in the precise form requested, but in the 12 months ending on 31 December 1986, 2,482 claims for maternity grant were made at the Department's Halifax local office which covers the town, although the boundaries are not conterminous.
§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in Huddersfield claimed the maternity grant in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. MajorInformation is not available in the precise form requested, but in the 12 months ending on 31 December 1986, 2,651 claims for maternity grant were made at the Huddersfield local office of the Department which covers the town, although the boundaries are not conterminous.
§ Mr. Sheermanasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in Batley and Spenborough claimed the maternity grant in the last year for which figures are available.
§ Mr. MajorInformation is not available in the precise form requested. The Batley and Spenborough constituency is covered by the Department's local office at Dewsbury, although its boundaries are not conterminous with the constituency. The number of claims for maternity grant received at the Dewsbury local office during the 1986 calendar year was 986.
§ Mr. McCrindleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services what steps have been taken to publicise the introduction of the statutory maternity pay scheme; what discussions he has had on the subject with the representatives of employers; and if he will make a statement.
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§ Mr. LyellAn employers guide to statutory maternity pay was issued to all employers in November 1986 with national press advertising at the same time. In addition, details of the new arrangements have been publicised by poster and in DHSS leaflets [FB8 and N117A] available in social security offices and antenatal clinics. Information about the rates of SMP was sent to all employers recently and a training brief was published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office in January 1987 which employers may use to train their staff if they wish. Further national and regional press advertising and a new poster are planned over the coming weeks.
A consultation paper was issued to employers organisations and others in December 1985. There have been numerous contacts between our officials and employer organisations over the past 12 months as the scheme has been developed. Ministers have met representatives from employer organisations, including the CBI and the Engineering Employers Federation from time to time to discuss the social security review proposals, including those for maternity.
§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in Warrington, North and South and Chorley constituencies claimed the maternity grant in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will take steps to estimate how many women in Warrington, North and South and Chorley constituencies are expected to qualify for a maternity payment from the social fund after April 1987
§ Mr. MajorInformation on the numbers of claims to maternity grant is not available in the precise form requested. The Warrington North and South and Chorley constituencies are covered by the Department's local offices at Chester, Warrington, Widnes, Preston, South and Skelmersdale, although their boundaries are riot conterminous with the constituencies. The numbers of claims to maternity grant received at these local offices during the 1986 calendar year are as follows :
Number Chester 1,547 Warrington 2,977 Widnes 1,923 Preston, South 2,959 Skelmersdale 1,335 It is not possible to predict how many women in the Warrington, North and South and Chorley constituencies will qualify for a maternity payment from the social fund after April 1987.
§ Mr. Hoyleasked the Secretary of State for Social Services how many women in Warrington, North and South and Chorley constituencies received maternity allowance in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will take steps to estimate how many women in Warrington, North and South and Chorley constituencies are expected to receive statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance after April 1987.
§ Mr. MajorInformation is not available in the form requested, but in the 12 months ending April 1986, the latest year for which figures are available, the following numbers of claims to maternity allowance were made at the Department's offices which cover Warrington. North and South and Chorley constituencies, although the boundaries are not conterminous.
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Number Warrington North Warrington 2,057 Warrington South Chester 1,045 Widnes 1,126 Warrington 2,057 Chorley Preston South 1,859 I regret it is not possible to make reliable estimates of how many women in Warrington, North and South and Chorley will qualify for statutory maternity pay or maternity allowance from April 1987. However, it is estimated that in total some 230,000 women will qualify for statutory maternity pay and 84,000 for maternity allowance in 1987–88.