§ Ms. RichardsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Social Security what is the cost per annum of Britain's current maternity provision; and what this figure is as a percentage of the national payroll.
§ Mr. JackThe total estimated cost of financial provision for maternity in the 1990–91 year is £395 million made up as follows:
66W
£million Statutory Maternity Pay 340 State Maternity Allowance 34 Social Fund Maternity payments 21 In addition, there are costs to industry resulting from the right of those women employees who meet the relevant qualifying conditions to return to work after maternity absence. It is difficult to estimate these costs, but they may reasonably be expected to be in the range £200 million to £300 million per annum.
It is estimated that the cost to industry and the state is in the range 0.17 to 0.2 per cent. of total labour costs over the economy as a whole which are running at well over £300 billion.