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The Government carried out an analysis of the costs and benefits of providing leave for mothers and fathers in the impact assessment which accompanied its consultation on the administration of shared parental leave which was published in February 2013. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/110692/13-651-modern-workplaces-shared-parental-leave-and-pay-impact-assessment2.pdf<\/a><\/p> <\/p> The impact assessment reflects the fact that there are costs for both the Exchequer and business associated with the taking of maternity and paternity leave. Business costs include, for example, where employers provide occupational maternity or paternity schemes which go beyond the statutory minimum, and the costs associated with recruiting staff to cover a period of absence.<\/p> <\/p> In relation to Exchequer costs, the Government collects data on the total amount of statutory paternity pay and statutory maternity pay paid to employees by employers and uses this to estimate the numbers taking paternity/maternity leave and the size of average, or average weekly, claims. These figures represent the cost to the Exchequer rather than business as statutory payments can be reclaimed by the employer. The latest available figures for the costs to the Exchequer are as follows:<\/p> <\/p> Maternity pay and maternity allowance<\/strong><\/p> <\/strong><\/p><\/td> Number of claimants commencing in year 2011/12<\/strong><\/p><\/td> Total claimed<\/strong><\/p><\/td> Average claim (2010/11)<\/strong><\/p><\/td><\/tr> Maternity Pay<\/p><\/td> 355,000<\/p><\/td> £2.2 billion<\/p><\/td> £5,890<\/p><\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table> <\/p> Source: Expenditure is from employer returns to HMRC and is the average amount recovered by employers. Average claim and spells commencing is based on L2 data (a 1% sample of HMRC National Insurance Contribution records). <\/strong><\/p> <\/p> <\/strong><\/p><\/td> Average number of claimants at any one time: May 2013<\/strong><\/p><\/td> Total Expenditure: 2012/13<\/strong><\/p><\/td>