Prospective parents planning to have children in 2015 will be £180 worse off than those who had children this year, according to Labour.

Statutory maternity pay will be cut by £53 in 2013/14, and the cuts are to more than triple within two years, with new mothers receiving £180 less than mothers this year by 2015/16, figures obtained from the House of Commons library show.

The cuts are predicted to impact around 18,000 new parents in 2015/16, based on the current Scottish birth rate.

The Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Margaret Curran MP, said: "New mums shouldn't be forced to have to pay the price for this Government's failure.

"Already, women have been hit particularly hard by this Government with maternity grants cut and baby bonds scrapped.

"Now, they plan another penalty for women with children, at a time when people are finding it more and more difficult to make ends meet.

"New mums should be able to take the time they need with their babies after they leave hospital.

"With these cuts making time off work less affordable, many women will have to make a choice between bonding with their baby or returning to work earlier than planned."

Figures show that over the course of a 33-week period in receipt of the standard rate of maternity pay, recipients will receive £53.64 less in total in 2013-14, rising to £180.11 less in 2015-16.