Self-employment Income Support Scheme 2021-01-26
2021-01-26
TAGS
Response quality
Questions & Answers
Q1
Partial Answer
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Context
Self-employed women who have taken maternity leave are receiving less financial support than their peers who did not take leave. The charity Pregnant Then Screwed reported that around 75,000 self-employed women were affected.
The Chancellor likes to claim that the UK offers one of the most generous support schemes for self-employed people in the world, but self-employed women who have taken maternity leave in the past few years are not supported generously at all—in fact, they have received a lot less financial support than their peers who have not taken maternity leave. The charity Pregnant Then Screwed reported that around 75,000 self-employed women have been subject to this issue.
If I may just say, the hon. Gentleman is wrong. We are not talking about a claim that is not validated by third parties; it is understood internationally that the scheme is one of the most generous in the world. He will be aware that the issue is subject to legal challenge, which limits what I can say, but I can tell him that the Government are well aware that some self-employed people found that their eligibility for the scheme was affected if they had taken time out of their trade in 2018-19, which is why, in June last year, the scheme's eligibility criteria were revised to ensure that people in that situation were able to claim self-employment income support.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific discrimination against 75,000 self-employed mothers was not directly addressed.
Subject To Legal Challenge
Response accuracy
Q2
Partial Answer
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Context
Self-employed women who have taken maternity leave are receiving less financial support than their peers. The issue has been raised multiple times in this House.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UK Government have consistently failed to prioritise support for women on maternity leave. Despite the issue being raised by me and a host of others repeatedly in this House, the UK Government were taken to judicial review last week by Joeli Brearley and the tireless campaigners at Pregnant Then Screwed. Do the UK Government now accept that it is not a sabbatical, sick leave or a holiday—it is maternity leave? Will they end their discrimination against 75,000 self-employed mothers?
I am not sure whether the sound system was working but, as the hon. Lady will know from my previous remarks, the issue is subject to legal challenge so I cannot discuss it. I will say, though, that I met maternity groups as part of the excluded in early December, and we have taken steps to remedy the situation, where we have been able to do so, in relation to those who took time out in the year 2018-19.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific discrimination against 75,000 self-employed mothers was not addressed.
Subject To Legal Challenge
Response accuracy
Q3
Partial Answer
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Context
The issue of maternity leave for self-employed women has been raised multiple times in the House and was recently taken to judicial review.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the UK Government have consistently failed to prioritise support for women on maternity leave. Despite the issue being raised by me and a host of others repeatedly in this House, the UK Government were taken to judicial review last week by Joeli Brearley and the tireless campaigners at Pregnant Then Screwed. Do the UK Government now accept that it is not a sabbatical, sick leave or a holiday—it is maternity leave? Will they end their discrimination against 75,000 self-employed mothers?
I am not sure whether the sound system was working but, as the hon. Lady will know from my previous remarks, the issue is subject to legal challenge so I cannot discuss it. I will say, though, that I met maternity groups as part of the excluded in early December, and we have taken steps to remedy the situation, where we have been able to do so, in relation to those who took time out in the year 2018-19.
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Assessment & feedback
Specific discrimination against 75,000 self-employed mothers was not addressed.
Subject To Legal Challenge
Response accuracy