A petition calling for an increase in Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) to be matched with the current rate of inflation has received almost 25,000 signatures. The petition has been launched in a bid to help soon to be parents with the rising cost of living.
Started by Nicola Black, the parliament petition, titled 'Increase Statutory Maternity Pay in line with cost of living crisis', has a deadline of November 27 2022 and if it gains 100,00 signatures or more, it will be debated in Parliament.
However despite thousands of people calling for the same change, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) have said there are currently “no plans” to review the current payment rates.
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Ms Black highlighted that the SMP is currently paid at 90% of average weekly earnings, before tax, for the first six weeks where it's then 156.66 or 90 per cent of average weekly earnings, whichever is lower, for the next 33 weeks. This averages £7, 500 per year.
The Government also responded on June 13 adding: "The Government has no plans to increase Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). The standard rate of SMP is reviewed annually and is generally increased in line with CPI."
The petition reads: "The cost of living has been increasing across the UK since early 2021 and in April 2022, inflation reached its highest recorded level, and the ONS estimates that it is now higher than at any time since around 1982, affecting the affordability of goods and services for households. Consumer prices, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), were 9.0 per cent higher in April 2022 than a year before"
However, as reported by the Daily Record, the latest Consumer Prices Index (CPI) figure was released this week and is now 9.1 per cent higher in May than a year before.
The DWP responded: “The standard rate of SMP is considerably higher than the level of other out of work benefits and reflects the special position of pregnant working women and new mothers.
“The standard rate of SMP is reviewed annually, alongside state benefits, and is generally increased in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). From April 2022 the standard rate of SMP increased to £156.66, in line with the September 2021 CPI rate of 3.1 per cent.”
The response continued: “When considering calls to increase the level of SMP, this must be balanced against limited resources as well as being mindful of the burden on employers, who (with the exception of small employers i.e. those with gross National Insurance liability of £45,000 or less in a tax year) are required to cover 8% of the SMP costs. If changes to the rate of SMP outside of the annual review of uprating were to be made, payroll providers and employers would need sufficient time to amend, test and distribute any system changes needed to reflect the new rate.”
In addition, they also highlighted the ways in which the UK Government spends approximately £3 billion a year on maternity payments adding that "any changes to the rate of SMP would have to take account of economic circumstances and affordability for taxpayers and could not be made without consultation with businesses and other stakeholders.”
The response concludes: “The UK Government has no plans to increase the rate of SMP outside of the annual review of uprating.”
You can view the petition and the full response here.
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