Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care regarding the potential merits of incorporating (a) evidence on the maternal and neonatal risks from extreme heat and (b) measures to protect pregnant people and infants during heatwaves into the UK’s National Adaptation Programme.

Answered by Emma Hardy - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs)

Defra is working across Government to reset the climate adaptation framework and safeguard people, livelihoods, and our natural environment. Defra is setting stronger objectives and improving governance and monitoring, to help Government turn evidence into action.

The Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) recognises that there are risks to pregnant women caused by exposure to extreme high temperatures which are set out in the Adverse Weather and Health Plan Equity Review and Impact Assessment 2024. This includes an assessment on stillbirth, pre-term birth and maternal health complications.

UKHSA provides a weather-health alerting system for England, which alerts the public (including specific vulnerable groups such as pregnant women) and public sector organisations to prepare for impacts of adverse weather, including high temperatures. Risks to health are communicated via heat-health alerts.