UK plans new law to allow Cabinet ministers maternity leave

LONDON: The UK government will table a new bill in Parliament on Thursday to allow Cabinet ministers to be able to go on maternity leave for six months on full pay. The Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances bill, to be tabled by Cabinet Office minister Penny Mordaunt, will cover ministers and holders of Opposition offices on maternity leave and is expected to immediately impact Goan-origin Cabinet minister Suella Braverman who is expecting a child in the coming weeks. Braverman, the government's senior-most legal officer as UK Attorney General, is expected to become the first high-profile government minister who would be able to make use of the new law. -