Midwives: Graduate Guarantee

Baroness Prentis of Banbury Excerpts

Tuesday 21st April 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The issue is more a misalignment of numbers than a straightforward shortage, as the number of midwives has increased. There was a 2.6% increase in January 2026 compared to the year before, so the trajectory is good. The misalignment, as I have explained, is that we are dealing with a situation where midwives are being trained but they cannot get jobs. That is what we have to bring together and what we are doing through the graduate guarantee scheme.

[Baroness Prentis of Banbury (Con)]

My Lords, does the noble Baroness share my concern that there is an increasing trend towards encouraging women to give birth in large hospital centres further from their homes and does she agree that an increase in midwives—as well as in obs and gynae professionals of all sorts—would enable us to behave more like France and Germany do, for example, and aim for units of between 2,000 and 4,000 births a year?

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

Obviously, what matter most are patient safety and patient satisfaction, and I am very much looking forward to the independent report from my noble friend Lady Amos in this regard, because she is focusing on that. I am sure that she will consider the best place. I cannot comment on whether the noble and learned Baroness’s assertion will be the best option here, but there was a separate call for evidence under the workforce plan so that we could hear directly from maternity and neonatal staff.