Clause 10 - Entitlement
Tax Credits Bill
3:45 pm
Professor Steve Webb (Northavon, Liberal Democrat)
I should like to raise an issue that I told the Minister I would raise this morning. We have not yet covered it in our discussions on the amendments. It
is how the definition of ''remunerative work'' affects expectant mothers. Maternity Alliance raised the issue with me, and pointed out that under the proposed rules, when a woman shifts from paid to unpaid maternity leave, she could fall foul of the remunerative work rule as she had ceased to do remunerative work, and could lose the working tax credit. Under the existing working families tax credit, there would be no adjustment because of the fixed six-month rule, and once the money was awarded, the expectant mother would receive help. Will the Government consider whether, under the provisions for remunerative work, mothers whose maternity pay ceases after birth would still be entitled to the working tax credit?
The Government have an agenda for maternity and paternity leave. In general, it will not be paid by the state beyond statutory minimum levels. If the Government want to encourage parents to take that leave, making the working tax credit available would create more of an incentive for them to do so.
The final issue raised by Maternity Alliance is whether people come into eligibility only after the birth of the child. That relates to the clause, because whether one receives the working tax credit and is subject to the relevant hours threshold depends on whether one has children. The Government might consider whether a woman during her period of confinement, or in the latter stages of pregnancy, might start to come within the scope of the working tax credit or child tax credit, given the strong evidence that maternal welfare during pregnancy has a strong bearing on the welfare of the child and its subsequent development. Do the Government have any thoughts along those lines? The question of remunerative work and whether women receiving maternity pay would lose it under the new system should be addressed.