Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether she has made an assessment of the potential benefits of introducing more flexible working arrangements for maternity staff in NHS services.

Flexible working arrangements, or We work flexibly, is one of the elements contained in the NHS People Promise, with a commitment to deliver for staff, including midwives, by 2024/25. NHS England has created and shared flexible working arrangement resources, and delivered bespoke webinars and workshops on the issue. They have also brought together midwifery leaders from across the system to share good practice, foster collaboration, and support the implementation of flexible working across maternity services.

In September 2021, contractual changes took effect for employees covered by the NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, which includes the right to request flexible working from day one, without the need to provide a justification.

Flexible working is one of the key pillars of improving staff experience and retention, as set out in the Long Term Workforce Plan. It will contribute to the aim of retaining up to 130,000 more staff over the course of the plan. However, no assessment of the benefits of introducing more flexible working arrangements specifically for maternity staff has been made.