POLITICIANS are “missing a trick” by not putting forward plans for a “revolutionary approach” to maternity support in an independent Scotland, a campaigner has said.
A number of smaller, independent European countries have policies in place to allow women with newborn children to take more time off, more of that maternity leave fully paid, and some have even introduced innovative plans, such as a home help to support families in the early days of new parenthood. Currently, the UK has some of the worst provisions in Europe.
The Scottish Government said that a number of their plans to support parents had been “constrained by the current constitutional set up”.
However, campaigners argue that despite the policy area being reserved, Scotland could influence a more radical approach to maternity pay and leave. In the UK – statutory maternity pay pales in comparison, with women only paid just over £700 a month for the majority of their time off work caring for a newborn. Only the first six weeks are paid closer to their salary, but only 80%, and the final three months of maternity leave, if the mother chooses to take them, are unpaid.
Combined with issues around pricey childcare and a lack of support for new mothers, campaigners have called for radical action ahead of the next General Election.
Statutory maternity pay is set by the UK Government, and is set to rise in rate with other benefits in the coming months, but activists say this does not go far enough.
The Scottish Government recently published an independence white paper on social security after independence, but the document only mentioned maternity in the index pages.
Campaign group Pregnant then Screwed is calling for 12 weeks of 90% pay to be introduced and for 27 weeks of shared parental leave set at the national living wage. The current payment works out less than the salary of someone working full time at minimum wage.
“It is definitely an area where there’s so much more that can be done,” Carole Erskine, the group’s Scotland spokesperson said.
“It just does not seem to have the same cut-through with politicians and I don’t understand why because it does feel like it would be such a vote winner.”
Erskine pointed out that the issue becomes “very acute” for people who are due to become parents, and that even though the issue is reserved to Westminster currently, the Scottish Government could still have influence over pushing for reforms.
She added: “I do think they’re kind of missing a trick in terms of how they could put forward what they would potentially see an independent Scotland looking like.
“While we can’t do that at the moment because maternity and paternity leave is reserved, I think people would sit up and listen if they put forward a revolutionary approach to it.” The National asked the Scottish Government why maternity was not covered in its paper on social security.
Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville (below) said that maternity pay is “another example of the inadequacy of UK Government support” and said some of the Scottish Government’s plans had been “constrained by the current constitutional set-up”.
“We have been forced to rethink plans for a new Parental Transitions Fund, as a result of the interaction of proposed payments with reserved tax and benefit rules and the limits of devolved powers to support people to access and retain employment,” she said.
“Our social security plans will be supported by fairer employment practices, as described in the Building a New Scotland: A stronger economy with independence paper.
“This could include a fair national minimum wage, access to flexible working, higher minimum standards of sick pay and parental leave, and wider family-friendly policies such as access to early learning and childcare and training, rehabilitation, and supported employment to support disabled people into work.”
Somerville added that an estimated 90,000 fewer children live in poverty in Scotland due to the impact of various policies including the Scottish Child Payment and Best Start Grants.
