Maternity Pay
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what data her Department holds on the number of statutory maternity pay cases per constituency in (a) 2022, (b) 2023, and (d) 2024.
Answered by Andrew Western
Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP) is delivered through HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), rather than the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). We do not hold information on SMP cases per constituency, however a breakdown by region, supplied by HMRC, is below.
| 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
East Midlands | 41,900 | 40,900 | 20,300 |
East of England | 58,600 | 57,100 | 28,900 |
London | 90,300 | 89,500 | 45,700 |
North East | 21,100 | 20,700 | 10,500 |
North West | 66,400 | 64,500 | 32,300 |
Northern Ireland | 20,100 | 19,900 | 10,100 |
Scotland | 45,400 | 43,600 | 21,900 |
South East | 84,500 | 82,900 | 41,500 |
South West | 47,600 | 46,300 | 23,000 |
Wales | 26,000 | 26,000 | 12,900 |
West Midlands | 51,000 | 49,800 | 25,100 |
Yorkshire and The Humber | 46,800 | 45,700 | 23,000 |
Notes:
- Figures for Statutory Maternity Pay are rounded to the nearest hundred.
- Figures for Statutory Maternity Pay were collected using HMRC Real Time Information (RTI) and were extracted in August 2024. RTI is subject to revision or updates. The location of the claim is based on the taxpayers’ residential address as recorded on RTI.
- Figures are the number of individuals in receipt of SMP in a given financial year. A significant number of cases will be active across two financial years, and therefore counted in both. As the 2024-25 financial year is still ongoing, figures are correct up until May 2024.
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