National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation

Debate between Ben Coleman and James Murray

Tuesday 30th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ben Coleman (Chelsea and Fulham) (Lab)]

I am not a doctor, but thank you so much, Madam Deputy Speaker. Perhaps I am a doctor from the university of life—who knows?

I pay tribute to Baroness Amos for this excellent report, and to my right hon. Friend the Member for Ilford North (Wes Streeting) for commissioning it. It is a remarkable piece of work. It follows on from Ockenden, and the report on black maternal health done by my Health and Social Care Committee—its Chair, the hon. Member for Oxford West and Abingdon (Layla Moran), sits on the Opposition Benches. We see the same problems again and again: misogyny, racism and a lack of accountability. I am therefore delighted that this plan will be developed in six months, through the taskforce, and that we will have a maternity commissioner. I know that my constituent Louise Thompson, who has been campaigning hard for this position to be created, will be delighted. However, like me, I think she will have a question about timing. Will it be possible for the commissioner, who will be introduced on a statutory basis, to be brought in quickly enough for them to have a full role in shaping and creating the plan that will be before us in six months? If not, why not?

[James Murray]

My hon. Friend asks about the timing, and the process for establishing a commissioner. As a first step, in the next two weeks, I will meet members of the taskforce to agree the scope, and a detailed role for the commissioner, because I want that scope and role to be agreed with them, given that they will be developing the national action plan. We then need to get the commissioner on a statutory basis, and I want to do that as quickly as possible. I am keen to look for options to do that through the Health Bill, but that will obviously be subject to discussions with the usual channels. Once that is in place, we can appoint the commissioner as quickly as possible.

It is worth emphasising that the role of the commissioner will be to implement the national action plan, so work on developing the plan and on establishing the commissioner will begin immediately. When the commissioner is appointed, they will have a role in implementing the national action plan. The issue is not simply about developing a national plan; it is about ensuring that it gets implemented, and that we hold trusts and other organisations across the system to account.

Nottingham Maternity and Neonatal Services

Debate between Ben Coleman and James Murray

Wednesday 24th June 2026 Commons Chamber

[Ben Coleman (Chelsea and Fulham) (Lab)]

The Ockenden report is shocking and its findings are repellent. As my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham Erdington (Paulette Hamilton) said, it is shocking how many of its findings also featured in a report on black maternal health that the Health and Social Care Committee, on which I sit, published last September. As she set out, women were not listened to. There was no accountability, weak leadership, a toxic culture, racial inequality, understaffing and poor data gathering. All those things are referenced in both reports, and my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Josh Fenton-Glynn) pointed out that things have been getting worse over the past 20 years. It used to be the case that women who were black were 4.7 times as likely to die in childbirth or around childbirth as white women. The figure is now only 2.3 times. While we can welcome that, the sad fact is that it is not because things have got better for black women; it is because things have got worse for everybody else across the country. The Ockenden report and its findings on what happened are the culmination of problems that have been building for years.

I want to recognise my constituent, Louise Thompson. She suffered terribly giving birth, when the NHS would not listen to her about the care she needed. She is now running a powerful campaign for a maternity commissioner and improved maternal care. I hope she will meet my hon. Friend the Member for Sherwood Forest (Michelle Welsh) soon. The Secretary of State promises a comprehensive action plan to be formed by a national maternity and neonatal taskforce. That is welcome, but we have had action plans in the past and they have not delivered the change promised. Given that record, will the Government commit to publishing measurable targets and firm deadlines within the action plan and to report progress to Parliament at fixed intervals? We need to know, and women across the country need to know, what will really be different this time.

[James Murray]

I commend my hon. Friend on mentioning his constituent, Louise Thompson, who is campaigning on this important issue. He mentioned the impact of racism, discrimination and inequality in maternity services and their failures—all raised powerfully by Donna Ockenden’s report today. As I said earlier, the action plan, which the taskforce will be producing, will be published by the end of this year. We are determined to break that cycle where recommendations get accepted and then get left on the shelf to gather dust. We want an action plan that can be implemented. We want to make sure that delivery is set out and is progressed by the Secretary of State and the Department. That is a key part of the accountability in making sure that the delivery plan is put into action.