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Select Committee · Petitions Committee

Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on

Status: Closed Opened: 5 Jul 2021 Closed: 21 Feb 2022 18 recommendations 8 conclusions 1 report

One year on from the publication of its report on the impact of Covid-19 on maternity and parental leave, the Petitions Committee will hear from expert witnesses about the progress made against the problems identified and recommendations made to the Government in the report.

Clear

Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year… HC 479 7 Oct 2021 26 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

2 items
23 Conclusion First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n… Rejected

We are disappointed that the Government is yet to act to resolve inconsistencies in the...

We are disappointed that the Government is yet to act to resolve inconsistencies in the availability or treatment of parental leave and pay entitlements for groups including self-employed adoptive parents, special guardians, and recipients of Maternity Allowance on Universal Credit, despite our report last year highlighting the financial and other …

Government response. The government explains its focus on employed parents and notes that local authorities can consider discretionary payments for self-employed adopters. However, they explicitly state they have no plans to change how Maternity Allowance is treated in Universal Credit, citing a …
24 Recommendation First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n… Rejected

We restate our recommendations from last year, that the treatment of Maternity Allowance and Statutory...

We restate our recommendations from last year, that the treatment of Maternity Allowance and Statutory Maternity Pay in Universal Credit should be equalised; that parental benefits available to self-employed birth parents should be extended to self-employed adoptive parents; and that parental leave and pay should be offered to special guardians. …

Government response. The government rejects equalising Maternity Allowance and Statutory Maternity Pay in Universal Credit, stating it has no plans to change the current treatment, and outlines existing support mechanisms for self-employed adoptive parents without extending parental benefits.

Oral evidence sessions

1 session
Date Witnesses
14 Jul 2021 Bethany Power, Petition signatory · Private citizen, Dr Sarah McMullen · NCT (National Childbirth Trust), Emily Tredget · Happity, Joeli Brearley · Pregnant Then Screwed, Neil Leitch · Early Years Alliance, Rosalind Bragg · Maternity Action, Sally Hogg · Parent-Infant Foundation, Sue Armstrong Brown · Adoption UK View ↗

Correspondence

1 letter
DateDirectionTitle
15 Dec 2021 — Correspondence from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Vaccines and…