Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services

Lord Roe of West Wickham Excerpts

Monday 29th June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

The noble Baroness is right to refer to the report undertaken by the Lords committee, which I was pleased to be invited to appear before. It is true that there is a complexity. Outcomes also vary between trusts. There are a lot of potential reasons, but “potential” is not good enough. In 2023, the number of stillbirths in the most deprived areas remained much higher than in the least deprived.

In all the ways that noble Lords, including the noble Baroness, have mentioned, there are deep inequalities. NHS England has published an inequalities dashboard. That is important because it supports the identification of areas where populations face the greatest disparity, so that interventions can be appropriate for them and there can be more equitable support. We will certainly look very carefully at the differences and the inequalities, because that will be a real driver for change.

[Lord Roe of West Wickham (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister and the Secretary of State for their hard work, shining a light on the inadequacies in maternity services in this country. My question is more general. The Minister referred to the coming Hillsborough law—one would hope in the next Session—which will be vital to accountability and driving candour across reviews into areas of both public and private failure. I respectfully ask, if the Minister cannot update me on progress being made on an oversight mechanism, whether the relevant Cabinet Office Minister might write to me to provide an update on progress. I am afraid that without the addition of an oversight mechanism, whether through a powerful public committee set up within Parliament or an independent body, we will once again return to terrible stories, whether in maternity, construction or other aspects of care.

[Baroness Merron (Lab)]

I will be pleased to raise that with my ministerial colleague in the Cabinet Office. I agree that an oversight mechanism is very important. On the Bill—which will, of course, become an Act—it is key to note that it will establish a new duty of candour and assistance at inquiries, inquests and other investigations. To the point that we are discussing here, the Bill will also allow for that duty of candour to be applied to health investigations by regulation. That is crucial, and it is by using that power that we will ensure that the Leeds and Sussex reviews, which are live, are included through secondary legislation.