§ Helen JacksonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (1) what the weekly rate is of maternity allowance offered to women who are self-employed in small businesses; [26050]
(2) how many self-employed women have taken up full maternity leave and allowances in the last year and in the previous two years. [26052]
§ Malcolm WicksWe are improving maternity benefits as part of our drive to help women achieve a better balance between paid work and family life. In August 2000 we abolished the separate lower rate of Maternity Allowance paid to the self-employed. They now receive the same standard rate of Maternity Allowance as employees, which is £62.20 for up to 18 weeks, provided they pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions. At the same time we also extended Maternity Allowance to self-employed women who do not pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions provided they hold a certificate of Small Earnings Exception. These women receive £27 a week for up to 18 weeks. Maternity Leave is available only to employees not the self-employed.
The standard rate of Maternity Allowance will be raised to £75 a week from April 2002. In 2003 the rate will be £100 a week and the payment period will be extended from 18 to 26 weeks.
The information available on the number of self-employed women who have received Maternity Allowance since the improvements in August 2000 is in Table 1.
Table 1 Maternity Allowance awards to women shown as self-employed. Self-employed 1 September 2000 to 31 August 2001 9400 Source:
5 per cent. scan of the computer system. Excludes late notifications to the system, and a small number of cases held clerically.
Notes:
- 1. Figure includes a small number of cases where the woman has a combination of self-employment and employment during the qualifying period.
- 2. Figure is rounded to the nearest hundred.
Information was collected on a different basis prior to the improvements made to Maternity Allowance in August 2000. The information available for the previous two years is in Table 2.
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Table 2 Maternity Allowance awards where "self-employed" was shown as the reason for non payment of Statutory Maternity Pay. Self-employed 5 April 1999 to 1 April 2000 8,000 6 April 1998 to 3 April 1999 9,000 Source:
Figures are from a 1 per cent. sample of claims to Maternity Allowance, and subject to a degree of sampling error.
Note: Figures are rounded to the nearest thousand or per cent.