Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to support pregnant women facing restrictions on their partners accompanying them to antenatal appointments and scans.

Restrictions on visitors are subject to the local discretion of trusts. The Department expects Trusts to use the ‘Framework to assist NHS trusts to reintroduce access for partners, visitors and other supporters of pregnant women in English maternity services’ and consider as a priority how access for partners, visitors and supporters of pregnant women can be reintroduced as soon as possible whilst maintaining the safety of all service users, staff and visitors.

The Chief Midwifery Officer, Chief Allied Health Professions Officer (England), and the National Clinical Director for Maternity and Women's Health wrote to all NHS Directors of Nursing and Heads of Midwifery in England on 19 September to inform those that are still working through the guidance that this must happen now so that partners are able to attend maternity units for appointments.