Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what guidance, if any, they have issued to integrated care boards to ensure that community health services receive more additional funding than other services.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

Our Medium-Term Planning Framework, published in October 2025, made it clear to integrated care boards (ICBs) that timely and effective community health services will be critical to shifting care out of hospital and into the community to deliver our ambitions for neighbourhood health.

ICB core programme allocations for 2026/27 to 2028/29, published in November 2025, gave an average recurrent allocation growth across all ICBs in England of 2.72% in 2026/27 and 2.92% in 2027/28.

And, for the first time, we have set a target for systems to reduce long waits for community health services in the Medium-Term Planning Framework. By 2028/29 at least 80% of community health services activity should take place within 18 weeks, bringing community health services in line with targets for elective care. Systems have also been asked to increase the capacity of community health services and to work to standardise the provision of core community services.

To help bring about integration, the Department and NHS England will create effective mechanisms which enable service level funding to flow from acute care to community health services and create financial incentives to invest in services that improve patient outcomes and deliver better value by creating funding flows and payment mechanisms that connect the savings from improved quality of care with the investment in new services in the community.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government which national body has formal responsibility for monitoring outcomes for placenta accreta spectrum, including missed antenatal diagnoses and maternal morbidity.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently no plans to introduce mandatory national reporting of placenta accreta spectrum cases and outcomes. Neither Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) nor the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit record placenta accreta routinely in regular surveillance. However, MBRRACE-UK captures this data as part of their confidential enquiries relating to haemorrhage.

In 2020, NHS England commissioned placenta accreta networks in the United Kingdom which support local and regional screening, shared protocols, and co-ordinated referral pathways to specialist pregnancy accreta centres. Placenta accreta centres consist of highly experienced multidisciplinary teams with the expertise to manage this condition and improve the safety outcomes for women and babies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce mandatory national reporting of placenta accreta spectrum cases and outcomes; and if so, over what timetable.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

There are currently no plans to introduce mandatory national reporting of placenta accreta spectrum cases and outcomes. Neither Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) nor the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit record placenta accreta routinely in regular surveillance. However, MBRRACE-UK captures this data as part of their confidential enquiries relating to haemorrhage.

In 2020, NHS England commissioned placenta accreta networks in the United Kingdom which support local and regional screening, shared protocols, and co-ordinated referral pathways to specialist pregnancy accreta centres. Placenta accreta centres consist of highly experienced multidisciplinary teams with the expertise to manage this condition and improve the safety outcomes for women and babies.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they plan to discuss the publication of data on maternal deaths and severe maternal morbidity specifically attributable to placenta accreta spectrum with Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In 2020, NHS England commissioned placenta accreta networks in the United Kingdom which support local and regional screening, shared protocols, and co-ordinated referral pathways to specialist pregnancy accreta centres. These centres consist of highly experienced multidisciplinary teams with the expertise to manage this condition and improve the safety outcomes for women and babies.

At present, placenta accreta spectrum is not included as an indicator in NHS England maternity safety improvement programmes and dashboards. There are no plans to add this as an indicator in the future.

There are no plans to introduce mandatory national reporting of placenta accreta spectrum cases and outcomes. Neither Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) nor the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit record placenta accreta spectrum routinely in regular surveillance. However, MBRRACE-UK captures this data as part of the haemorrhage confidential enquiries. There are currently no plans to discuss the publication of this data.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether there is a national audit mechanism to review cases of placenta accreta spectrum that were not diagnosed antenatally and resulted in emergency hysterectomy, major haemorrhage or fatality.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In 2020, NHS England commissioned placenta accreta networks in the United Kingdom which support local and regional screening, shared protocols, and co-ordinated referral pathways to specialist pregnancy accreta centres. These centres consist of highly experienced multidisciplinary teams with the expertise to manage this condition and improve the safety outcomes for women and babies.

At present, placenta accreta spectrum is not included as an indicator in NHS England maternity safety improvement programmes and dashboards. There are no plans to add this as an indicator in the future.

There are no plans to introduce mandatory national reporting of placenta accreta spectrum cases and outcomes. Neither Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) nor the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit record placenta accreta spectrum routinely in regular surveillance. However, MBRRACE-UK captures this data as part of the haemorrhage confidential enquiries. There are currently no plans to discuss the publication of this data.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether placenta accreta spectrum is included as an indicator in NHS England maternity safety improvement programmes and dashboards; and if not, whether placenta accreta spectrum will be added as an indicator.

Answered by Baroness Merron - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

In 2020, NHS England commissioned placenta accreta networks in the United Kingdom which support local and regional screening, shared protocols, and co-ordinated referral pathways to specialist pregnancy accreta centres. These centres consist of highly experienced multidisciplinary teams with the expertise to manage this condition and improve the safety outcomes for women and babies.

At present, placenta accreta spectrum is not included as an indicator in NHS England maternity safety improvement programmes and dashboards. There are no plans to add this as an indicator in the future.

There are no plans to introduce mandatory national reporting of placenta accreta spectrum cases and outcomes. Neither Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) nor the National Maternity and Perinatal Audit record placenta accreta spectrum routinely in regular surveillance. However, MBRRACE-UK captures this data as part of the haemorrhage confidential enquiries. There are currently no plans to discuss the publication of this data.