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

Petitions Committee Closed Non-inquiry session
Opened: 5 Jul 2021 Closed: 21 Feb 2022 Parliament page
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.
18 Recommendations
8 Conclusions
1 Report
1 Oral session
1 Letter
1 Event
Activity timeline 5 events
7 Mar
2022
Report published
15 Dec
2021
Correspondence
7 Oct
2021
Report published
14 Jul
2021
Oral evidence
14 Jul
2021
Formal meeting (oral evidence session) · Room 8, Palace of Westminster
Oral evidence sessions 1 session
14 Jul 2021
View on parliament.uk
Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on
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
Title HC No. Published Items Response
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on HC 479 7 Oct 2021 26 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
2 results
Clear
23 Conclusion Rejected
First Report - Impact of Covid-19…
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, … Read more
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 High Court judgment upholding the current policy.
View details
24 Recommendation Rejected
First Report - Impact of Covid-19…
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 … Read more
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.
View details
Government Response AI assessment · 26 of 18 classified
Accepted 13
Accepted in Part 1
Acknowledged 3
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 5
Rejected 2
Total 18 recs + 8 conclusions
Correspondence 1 letter
15 Dec 2021 Correspondence from the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Vaccines and Public Health relating to the Committee’s inquiry into the impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on
Parliament page