§ Mr. Peter DuncanTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1) for what reasons adoptive parents are not entitled to the same financial assistance as biological parents; [136501]
(2) what plans she has to review the level of adoptive pay; [136503]
(3) what estimate she has made of the number of claims for adoptive leave made in each of the last three years. [136504]
§ Mr. SutcliffeNew statutory rights to leave and pay for parents adopting a child came into effect on 6 April this year. Eligible employees are able to take up to 52 weeks adoption leave and receive Statutory Adoption Pay for up to 26 weeks paid at the same standard rate as Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)—£100 per week or 90 per cent. of average earnings if this is less than £100.
SMP is paid for the first six weeks at 90 per cent. of average earnings. This reflects the leg al requirement that women take a period of compulsory maternity leave following the birth of a child. This is for their health and safety and that of their child. Offering a higher rate of SMP for the first six weeks recognises this and helps mothers to take that time off.
664WThe adopter's partner may be able to benefit from the new rights to paternity leave and pay. Statutory Paternity Pay is paid at the same standard rate as SMP. This rate applies for all fathers, not just adoptive parents.
We are already gathering evidence on how the new rights for adoptive parents are working in practice, as part of a wider monitoring strategy for all the new laws relating to working parents introduced in April 2003, and will continue to do so as an ongoing process. The Government will begin a review of the right to request flexible working in 2006 and we aim to look at how effective the other laws have been at the same time.
The new rights have only been in place for seven months so as yet we do not have any figures on how many parents have taken adoption leave. However, it is estimated that in 2003 there will be 3,850 adoptions per year and we hope that most of these adopters will be able to benefit. We will be looking at the level of take up as part of our monitoring strategy.