Oral Answers to Questions

Rosie Wrighting Excerpts

Tuesday 20th October 2026 Commons Chamber

[Rosie Wrighting (Kettering) (Lab)]

3. What steps she is taking to improve maternity and neonatal care.

[Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) (Lab)]

19. What proportion of Best Start family hubs provide Healthy Babies support.

[The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Yvette Cooper)]

The Government are determined to give every child the best start in life. We will appoint an independent maternity and neonatal commissioner and publish an action plan covering every area identified for improvement from pregnancy to post-natal care. We will also go further, rolling out Sure Start health services for parents and babies into every family centre across the country, reaching up to 1,000 family hubs over the next two years.

[Rosie Wrighting]

The maternity ward at Kettering general hospital faces significant challenges such as reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, overheating during the summer and flooding during the winter. We urgently need to see the maternity ward rebuilt and the money raised by families for a bereavement suite put towards a safe space for families in the most difficult of times. I thank the Secretary of State for all the work she has done on national maternity services. Will she meet me to discuss those specific challenges and ensure that my constituents get the maternity service they deserve?

[Yvette Cooper]

I will happily meet my hon. Friend to talk about maternity services. I pay tribute to her as well, because she has been a tireless campaigner for improving maternity services and, in particular, bereavement suites for families at the most sensitive times. I also pay tribute to all the families in her constituency who have been involved in those campaigns. Work is under way for a new maternity and neonatal facility in Kettering general, which will include a bereavement suite. We want to work with the hospital and the community on that.