Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what steps the national maternity and neonatal investigation team is taking to ensure full representation of staff views in its work, including through a call for evidence at NHS trust level.

Following a meeting with West Mercia Police about the detail and schedule of their ongoing investigation, Baroness Amos concluded that the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust should be removed from the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation.

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was removed from the list of trusts under review as part of the national investigation following my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care’s decision to commission a separate independent maternity inquiry on 20 October.

The Call for Evidence for the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation was launched in January 2026, and the investigation has encouraged families in Shrewsbury and Telford, and Leeds to participate.

On 26 January 2026, the Independent Maternity and Neonatal Investigation launched a Workforce Call for Evidence. This is open specifically to all those who work in the maternity and neonatal care pathway and is a separate to the public call for evidence. It takes the form of a short online survey and focuses on the experiences of staff delivering care across the maternity and neonatal pathway and how best to support teams to provide high-quality, safe, and compassionate care. Findings will inform the investigation’s national recommendations, due for publication in spring 2026.

Information about how to access the workforce survey has been distributed to all NHS trusts and the investigation is asking them to cascade the link to all maternity and neonatal staff groups. It is currently live and will be open for six weeks, closing on 9 March 2026.

Baroness Amos is also meeting the senior team in each of the 12 trusts and staff panels are also being held on site.

A list of leaders for national organisations, including statutory, Arm’s Length Bodies, and the voluntary and charitable sector, is being developed by the National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation. Leaders of these organisations will be invited to a formal interview with the Chair, Director of investigation, and a member of the Expert Panel.

The National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation is also gathering evidence from organisations. Organisations and other individuals, for instance researchers, wishing to submit evidence to the investigation can submit this directly by email to the investigation mailbox. The deadline for all evidence submissions is 17 March 2026.