Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what powers and responsibilities the new Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner will have to improve accountability and organisational culture within NHS trusts.

The Government has announced that we will appoint the first ever Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner. This was one of Baroness Amos’ urgent actions from her national maternity and neonatal investigation final report. We accept that this is a crucial first step for us in overseeing systemic improvement to care and outcomes and earning back the trust of women and families.

The independent commissioner will have a crucial role in holding the system to account to deliver improvements in maternity and neonatal care, ensuring women’s voices are at the heart of everything we do. The scope and responsibilities of this role will be discussed urgently with the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce in the coming weeks.