Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the NHS Long Term Plan and NHS Planning Guidance commitments for 2019-20, what progress his Department has made on developing and launching continuity of carer teams with the aim that 20 per cent of pregnant women will be offered the opportunity to have the same midwife caring for them throughout their pregnancy, during birth and postnatally in 2019; and if he will make a statement.

NHS England and NHS Improvement provided a range of support for Local Maternity Systems in 2018-19 to help them establish continuity of carer models of maternity care across England. In response, in March 2019 all Local Maternity Systems reported offering continuity of carer to pregnant women. Teams and models of care vary, with some targeting medical and social complexity, others specific deprived areas, and others specific birth settings.