Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received as a result of the decision of 13 January 2017 of the Nursing and Midwifery Council on the adequacy of indemnity insurance provided to independent midwives; and if he will make a statement.
Since the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s (NMC) decision on the adequacy of indemnity arrangements for a small number of independent midwives who are members of Independent Midwives UK, the Department has received a number of pieces of correspondence from hon. Members and members of the public.
The Government supports choice in maternity services, but this has to be a safe choice. It is therefore appropriate that registered midwives are required to have adequate indemnity insurance to cover their scope of practice.
Whether or not a midwife’s indemnity cover is appropriate is a decision for the NMC as the independent regulatory body responsible for the regulation of midwives in the United Kingdom.