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 trends in the level of demand for NHS maternity services.

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England monitor trends in demand for maternity services using a number of different data sources. Demand is primarily driven by the number of women giving birth, as well as the type and complexity of the care that they and their babies need. The number of births in England has been trending downwards for over a decade, with there being 545,149 deliveries in National Health Service hospitals in 2023/24, 19% lower than the peak of 671,255 in 2012/13. While the number of women giving birth has decreased in recent years, an increasing proportion of women are giving birth for the first time, have pre-existing health conditions, or are developing pregnancy-related complications.

The Office for National Statistics predicts that births in England will increase to approximately 590,000 births per year by 2030, based on 2022-based population projections. This, and increases in the average number of admissions and appointments for each woman who gave birth in recent years, could indicate that demand on maternity services is expected to rise.