Response

1) How many penalty charge notices have been issued to women claiming maternity exemption in the last three years?

2) What actions have been taken to improve awareness and streamline processes?

Response

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information is attached.

Question 1 How many penalty charge notices have been issued to women claiming maternity exemption in the last three calendar years?

Please find attached data set for this information

Question 2 What actions have been taken to improve awareness and streamline processes?

How does the NHSBSA promote maternity exemption certificates?

The NHSBSA promotes maternity exemption certificates to midwives, pregnant women and new mums.

Please note that we usually promote the online eligibility checker in the first instance to encourage people to check if they are entitled to free prescriptions and dental treatment, and that maternity exemption certificates are promoted as part of this. If someone isn’t automatically entitled to free treatment due to their circumstances, the checker points them to apply to the NHS Low Income Scheme or to see if they might benefit from a Pre Payment Certificate (PPC). The checker also signposts to maternity and medical exemption certificates.

Paid campaigns were run in both 2023/24 and 2024/25. No-cost and very low-cost activity was also done in prior years to these paid campaigns.

Regional Partnership Lead activities

Regional and Place based presentations have been undertaken, specifically groups, to inform, promote awareness of the maternity exemption service, understand challenges and barriers to use and to signpost:

Presented in region at the following in the last 12 months:

• Heads of Midwifery/Directors of Midwifery • Perinatal and Neonatal networks • Digital Midwifery networks • Maternity Voice Partnerships • National Regional Maternity and Neonatal Digital Networks • Health and Equality Networks • Local Maternity and Neonatal Systems • Regional NHSE Women’s Health Hubs • Strategic Clinical Networks • Local Poverty and Housing Forums • Clinical Network Quality Improvement Teams • Chief Nursing Officers groups

Individual Stakeholder Engagement, collaboration with senior leaders who have influence with staff, to improve digital uptake, reduce easement rates and signpost to the NHSBSA for PCN queries. This method of engagement created opportunities for bench marking, service improvement, additional languages, creation of training resources for the general public:

• Head of Midwifery (PCN Easement cases) • Chief Pharmacist to understand origin of PCNs • NHSE Regional Digital Midwife • Director/s of Nursing and/or Chief Nurse • Head of Nursing and Midwifery • Regional NHSE Chief Nurse • ICB Programme Director for Women’s Health • NHSE Programme Directors for Women’s Health Hubs • Lead Digital Midwife • Directors of Strategy and Health Inequalities

Activity specifically targeting midwives and healthcare professionals

Social media – paid Paid social media ads targeting midwives, promoting the digital maternity exemption certificate route and encouraging them to complete an application during booking in appointments.

Social media – organic

Posts on the NHSBSA corporate channels with content for midwives and on relevant awareness days e.g. International Day of the Midwife.

Communications toolkit

Developed national communications toolkit which contains key messages, information and promotional materials for midwives and pregnant women.

Also contains materials in other languages.

Working with NHS England to push this out further through their channels.

Events

We exhibit regularly at events that midwives and healthcare professionals attend – last year (2024) we attend the Royal College of Midwives and Maternity & Midwifery Festivals to speak to midwives about maternity exemption certificates (last MMF event was February 2025), do some research with them, give out materials and general awareness raising of the certificates.

Attended online events with the Maternity Voices Partnerships (last one was 2022)

Direct mailouts

Engagement with midwives by direct email to our contacts, sharing our toolkits and materials and updated messages.

Worked with Royal College of Midwives and Maternity & Midwifery Festivals to send out emails to their networks of midwives about maternity exemption certificates.

Website

Information and materials available on NHSBSA’s website and media centre Information on third party websites including nhs.uk and gov.uk

NHS newsletters and bulletins

Articles in NHSBSA owned bulletins (Hints and Tips) and in third party bulletins (through NHS England) encouraging midwives to complete maternity exemption certificate applications

Engagement with other NHS/government organisations and campaigns

Working with NHSE to push out toolkit and materials through their networks and channels, including the Chief Midwifery Officer’s blog

Activity specifically targeting pregnant women

Social media – paid

Paid social media ads targeting pregnant women and news mums, encouraging them to speak to their midwife to get a maternity exemption certificate. These have been targeted nationally and in target regions

Social media – organic

Routine posts on the NHS Help with Health Costs channels encouraging pregnant women and news mums to speak to their midwife to get a maternity exemption certificate

Paid advertising

Promoted maternity exemption certificates in relevant online and offline publications (Bounty and Badgernotes)

Website

Information and materials available on NHSBSA’s website Information on third party websites including nhs.uk and gov.uk

GP screens

Created and shared a video about all help with health costs, which includes maternity exemption certificates – this is through Envisage which provides waiting room content to around half of GP surgeries in the UK (about 3,500 waiting rooms)

Engagement with other NHS/government organisations and campaigns

Working with Start 4 Life campaign to include maternity exemption certificate information on their website and in their newsletter

Media relations

Placing media stories where relevant

Background

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) promotes NHS exemption certificates and online tools to support people to check if they are entitled to help with the cost of their NHS prescriptions and NHS dental treatment. We target promotional activity to members of the public and to healthcare professionals who work with our target audiences.

Publishing this response

Please note that this information will be published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-02617

Your personal details will be removed from the published response.

Data Queries

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data. Reusing the data and copyright

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement: “NHSBSA Copyright 2025” Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.