Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS maternity care services; and what steps he is taking to improve the outcomes of that care.

The Department closely monitors the published Care Quality Commission ratings of Maternity Services in England.

To help achieve its ambition to reduce pre-term births and halve the 2010 rate of stillbirths, maternal and neonatal deaths, and brain injuries occurring during or soon after birth by 2025, the Government has introduced and funded initiatives such as the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, Maternal Medicine Networks, and Maternal Mental Health Hubs. The Maternity Transformation Programme will also implement its vision for safer and more personalised care across England.

The Government recognises that appropriate staffing levels are a prerequisite for safe care. Significant investment has been made into maternity and neonatal services, with £127 million announced in 2022 to go into the maternity system to help increase the National Health Service maternity workforce and improve neonatal care across England.

The Department is also reviewing the recommendations made within the Ockenden and East Kent Reports alongside its existing work to improve maternity outcomes. NHS England are mapping a coherent national delivery plan for maternity, delivered through the Maternity Transformation Programme.