Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many additional (a) neonatal, (b) stillbirth and (c) maternal deaths have occurred since 2018 compared to the Government’s target to halve 2010 rates by 2025; and what steps he is taking to meet these targets.

While there has been some good progress in reducing the rates of stillbirths and neonatal death, the most recent data indicates that we are not on track to meet the Maternity Safety Ambition, set under the previous administration.

We do not hold analysis on the specific ask, but we track progress against the ambition trajectory using various data sources, which are publicly available, including data from the Office for National Statistics and from Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK. In 2015, the rate of neonatal death and stillbirths was 1.6 per 1,000 live births and 4.4 per 1,000 births respectively. In the period 2014 to 2016, the rate of maternal death was 9.8 per 100,000 maternities. The most recent data shows that: in 2023 the rate of neonatal death was 1.4 per 1,000 live births; in 2024 the rate of stillbirths was 3.8 per 1,000 births; and in the period between 2021 and 2023 the maternal mortality rate was 12.7 per 100,000 maternities.

We are committed to ensuring that all women and babies receive the high-quality care that they deserve. This is why my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care recently announced an independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal services to understand the systemic issues behind why so many women, babies, and families experience unacceptable care. The Government is also establishing a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and to be made up of a panel of experts and family, charity, and staff representatives, in order to identify the actions needed to improve care.

But action cannot wait. We are also taking steps to improve care now. We have announced a package of immediate actions to boost accountability and safety. This includes a new system to better identify safety concerns to support rapid action and developing best practice standards to reduce maternal mortality.