Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions his Department and NHS England have had with the National Information Board on developing a digital maternity tool as recommended in the National Maternity Review.

To date there have been no formal discussions with the National Information Board (NIB) in relation to developing a maternity digital tool. Baroness Cumberlege, Chair of the National Maternity Review, has been a member of the NIB since December 2015. We understand that Baroness Cumberlege has had informal discussions with the NIB Chair regarding the Maternity Review.

The digital technology workstream for the implementation of the maternity review will support the rollout of patient-held digital maternity records and the development of a digital tool to support expectant parents with access to improved information to support their pregnancy, choice and connection to peers.

This work will embed the ambitions outlined by the NIB in relation to supporting greater self-care through digital services and tools, paper-free at the point of care.