Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of increasing the rate of Statutory Sick Pay to that of the National Living Wage.

No one should be forced to choose between their health and financial hardship, which is why we plan to strengthen Statutory Sick Pay (SSP), so it provides a safety net for those who need it most. The Plan to Make Work Pay commits to remove the Lower Earnings Limit to make it available to all workers and remove the waiting period so that SSP is paid from the first day of sickness absence. Together these changes will ensure everyone receives fair earnings replacement when they have to take time off work.

The Government will continue to keep the rate of SSP under review as part of the annual uprating process.