Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, for what reason his policies permit employed adoptive parents entitlement to statutory adoption leave but not self-employed adoptive parents.

The Government has focused on supporting employed parents to take time off work to care for and bond with their adopted child because they have less flexibility with their work than self-employed parents. However local authorities can provide a discretionary payment equivalent to Maternity Allowance to self-employed adopters. This payment is discretionary and means-tested to ensure that resources are targeted at those adopters who need it most, as part of a package of post-adoption support.