This petition was rejected

The Government e-Petitions Team gave the following reason:

There's already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/306691

You may be interested to know that the Petitions Committee has been investigating this issue.

On 7 May, the Committee heard about the impact of coronavirus on maternity leave. You can find out more here: committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/news/146332/petitions-committee-investigate-the-impact-of-coronavirus-on-students-and-on-maternity-leave/

On 21 May, the Committee heard about the impact of coronavirus on maternal mental health, the experiences of parents with babies in neonatal care, the impact on adopted children and adoption leave, and accessing childcare during the pandemic.

You can catch watch the session or read a transcript of the meeting here:

Watch the session: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SqMKtR-pt0A
Read the transcript: committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/408/default/

Ahead of the session, the Committee asked petitioners to share their experiences on childcare and returning to work.

Read a summary of what petitioners told us about childcare and returning to work during coronavirus: committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/5350/default/

Read a summary of what petitioners told us about the impact of coronavirus on maternity leave: committees.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/4258/default/

The Committee has also received written evidence on this issue from organisations and individuals. You can read them here: committees.parliament.uk/work/192/the-governments-response-to-coronavirus/publications/written-evidence/

### What is the Petitions Committee?

The Petitions Committee is a cross-party group of MPs that considers e-petitions submitted on Parliament’s petitions website and public (paper) petitions presented to the House of Commons. The Committee can schedule debates, hold in-depth inquiries, and press the Government for action on petitions. It is independent of the Government.

You can get updates on their work by following the Committee on Twitter
@HoCpetitions or on their website: committees.parliament.uk/committee/326/petitions-committee/

This is a ‘select committee’. Find out how Select Committees work:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_2RDuDs44c

Find out more about how petitions work:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGEOraE08Jk&feature=youtu.be