Pregnant women 'at risk from cuts'

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This coalition government seems to be addressing the budget deficit by taking money from those who can afford it least.

I will ask a question in the Lords today about the measures they are taking to assist pregnant women who no longer qualify for a maternity grant and a health in pregnancy grant.

The government has already ended the £190 health in pregnancy grant for women who were at least 25 weeks pregnant.

It was conditional on the mother having been provided advice from a midwife or doctor to help them and their unborn child to stay healthy during pregnancy.

This important link for providing good advice has now been broken.

The Sure Start Maternity grant of £500, payable to every pregnant women who qualified, will end on April 10.

Introduced by Labour in the year 2000 worth £200, it was increased to £300 in the autumn of the same year, and again to £500 in April 2002.

The grant is now only payable if there no other child under the age of 16 in the family, which effectively means it's now only available for the first child.

The report from the House of Lords Merits of Statutory Instruments Committee of 3rd February drew special attention to the amendment on maternity grants.

It pointed out that the grant ends in April, but the coalition government proposal to amend the rules for the social fund so it can be used for maternity items will not be enacted for at least eight to twelve months.

That means from April 10 pregnant women will not have any help or support from government and may be reduced to borrowing at a commercial rate.

The report states:

"This part of the government’s plan to reduce the budget deficit … is a cost saving measure that is anticipated to save £73m per annum."

This is one in a series of measures that coalition ministers are taking that reduce the help and support for lower income families with children.

Yet more rushed legislation where the timetable for consultation and for parliamentary scrutiny has been severely curtailed.

Pregnant women on low incomes will find it hard to prepare for their new babies under this regime.

They will no doubt have to turn to charities or faith groups to help them at this difficult time.

We all know that there have to be cuts to address the budget deficit, but this measure is so drastic. I will be pressing the coalition government to reconsider, or at least to vary the grant rather that cutting it for most pregnant women.

Anita Gale was the general secretary of the Welsh Labour party from 1984 until 1999, the year she was raised to the peerage.