Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the availability of employment opportunities for newly qualified midwives; and what steps he is taking to ensure that qualified healthcare professionals are able to secure NHS employment in a timely manner.

We recognise the difficulties newly qualified midwives are experiencing when they are seeking employment in the National Health Service. We are investing £10.6 million to fund an additional 1,000 temporary roles to help newly qualified midwives join the NHS. The new roles for graduates will help build on the success of the 2025 Graduate Guarantee that means every newly qualified midwife in England will have the opportunity to apply to join the NHS.

We will also shortly be publishing a 10-Year Workforce Plan, which will put the NHS workforce on a sustainable footing so it can deliver the service model set out in the 10-Year Health Plan.

In addition to this work, the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, which is comprised of family representatives, clinicians, and other experts, and chaired by my Rt Hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, will oversee the development of a new national action plan to drive systemic and sustained improvement across maternity and neonatal care. This follows the publication of the final recommendations of Baroness Amos’ independent investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal care.