Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answers by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Ministry of Justice on 12 March and 26 March (HC118173 and HC121720), whether the use of 37 weeks' gestation as a threshold derives from the gestational categorisation used in the Each Baby Counts research programme.

I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to all parents bereaved by baby loss. Bereavement is never easy, but the loss of a child is particularly dreadful and we recognise the profound and lifelong impact this has on parents and families.

The independent investigation into National Health Service maternity and neonatal care led by Baroness Amos set out in its terms of reference that it will look to understand the potential role of coroners in the investigation of late term stillbirths and identify mistakes which would help prevent future deaths. We want to ensure that the Government’s final conclusions on coronial investigation of stillbirths reflect any relevant findings and recommendations when the independent investigation makes. We will carefully consider next steps following the publication of the final report.

Chapter 5 of the 2019 Government consultation on the issue of extending the coronial jurisdiction to include stillbirths set out the rationale for focusing any potential legislative change on term and post- term stillbirths (37+ weeks), with reference to a range of evidential sources, including reports from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Each Baby Counts programme. The consultation asked for views on whether 37 weeks+ was the right parameter, and the Government’s factual summary of responses published in 2023 included a chapter on the responses to that question.