Ministerial maternity leave

This report, co-authored by former minister Chloe Smith, looks at the experience of seven ministers and MPs who had a baby while in office. It examines the impact of the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Act 2021, makes recommendations on how this could be strengthened, and sets out how ministers can make the most of their maternity leave.

The Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Act 2021 expanded and formalised maternity cover provision for pregnant ministers. Developed in response to the then attorney general Suella Braverman’s pregnancy, it allowed paid cover to be appointed for a minister who chose to take maternity leave, without affecting the legal limit on the number of paid ministers or requiring a pregnant minister to forgo their ministerial salary while on leave, or even resign. Before the Act, arrangements around ministerial maternity leave were improvised and informal, worked out between individual ministers and their teams. 

But the Act is not perfect and much of the practical planning is still done through informal discussions. This report draws on the experience of seven former ministers, including its co-author Chloe Smith, to offer recommendations on how the legislation could be strengthened to better support future ministers who become pregnant while in office, and to offer tips on how individual post-holders can make the most of their maternity leave.