Question follow-through · 4842
Maternity Leave
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing pregnant women and new mothers diagnosed with cancer to defer statutory maternity leave until the completion of their treatment.
About this written question
A written question asks a government minister for information in writing. Parliament publishes the question and any answer.
- Answering body
- Department for Work and Pensions
- Tabled
- 29 May 2026
- Target answer date
- 2 Jun 2026
- Answer
- 11 Jun 2026 · 13 calendar days after tabling
Elapsed calendar days describe the record timeline, not whether Parliament considers an answer on time.
Votes on this topic
- Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill: Second Reading · 11 Sept 2026
- Health Bill: Report Stage: Amendment 1 · 8 Sept 2026
- Health Bill: Report Stage: New Clause 143 · 8 Sept 2026
These Commons divisions share a topic label. The question did not necessarily lead to a vote.
Recorded timeline
29 May 2026
Question tabled
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of allowing pregnant women and new mothers diagnosed with cancer to defer statutory maternity leave until the completion of their treatment.
2 Jun 2026
Target answer date
Date supplied by the official written-questions record.
11 Jun 2026
Answer published
Parental leave and pay entitlements are being considered as part of the Government’s Parental Pay and Leave Review. The Review will report in early 2027 with next steps for taking any reforms forward to implementation.
Official data retrieved 28 Sept 2026.
Later records
Possible follow-up questions
Strong links require the same MP, department and exact heading. Other same-department questions are shown as unreviewed candidates, not as confirmed follow-ups. No debate link is asserted unless a stable source relationship exists.
Universal Credit: Students
9 Jul 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of treating student maintenance loans as income on Universal Credit claimants seeking to retrain for occupations with workforce shortages.
Universal Credit: Childcare
28 Aug 2026 · To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the impact of Universal Credit childcare rules on parents of disabled children who need to book and pay for specialist childcare several months in advance; and whether he