Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Report of the Morecambe Bay Investigation by Dr Bill Kirkup, published in March 2015, what steps his Department has taken to review the opportunities and challenges for smaller units in promoting services.

The Health Education England (HEE) working group undertook a comprehensive review of education and training issues for staff working in smaller units and rural areas and published its report in 2016.

The 2019 Maternity Workforce Strategy which superseded the work of the HEE group, recommended that HEE undertake a further review to consider both the benefits and risks of rural settings.

In August 2019 HEE established a Programme Board to oversee the review, agreement and delivery of the equitable distribution of post-foundation medical training posts in England.