Self-Isolation Support Grant: equality impact assessment

Pregnancy and maternity

Pregnancy is recognised as being a key trigger that increases the risk of women living in poverty. The experience of being pregnant and living on a low income can often place pressures on women during their pregnancy, including increased stress due to worry about additional costs.

When the SISG was created, we had no evidence to suggest that people could be adversely affected by the Self-Isolation Support Grant as a result of Pregnancy and maternity. Also, at that point in time, no Covid-19 vaccines were available. We now understand that vaccines play a vital part in protecting against severe disease and reducing pressure across the NHS.

The risk to pregnant women and newborn babies following Covid-19 infection is generally low. However, some women may become seriously unwell and need hospital treatment, particularly in the third trimester. Pregnant women with coronavirus have a higher risk of being admitted to intensive than women of the same age who are not pregnant. Recent data in the UK shows that almost all pregnant women admitted to hospital with coronavirus with symptoms were unvaccinated^[21],[22].

The SISG does not adversely affect those who are pregnant or on maternity leave. Everyone who meets the eligibility criteria can apply for the SISG regardless of whether you are pregnant or on maternity leave or not.

Impact of changes brought in from 1 May 2022

As stated previously, in relation to other protected characteristics, there is no data currently available to suggest that the protected characteristic of pregnancy and maternity has been negatively impacted by the changes brought in from 1 May 2022.