Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the findings of the MBRRACE-UK Perinatal Mortality Surveillance State of the Nation Report published in September 2023, what steps he is taking to reduce perinatal mortality (a) among babies from (i) deprived areas and (ii) Black and Asian backgrounds and (b) in general.

The Department is committed to improving perinatal outcomes and working towards the Government’s Maternity Ambition to halve the 2010 rates of stillbirths and neonatal deaths. In March 2023, NHS England published its three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services. The plan outlines how NHS England will make maternity and neonatal care safer, more personalised, and more equitable for all.

NHS England also published its Equity and Equality guidance for Local Maternity Systems which focuses on actions to reduce disparities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas.