Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce inequalities in (a) still-birth rates and (b) maternal mortality related to (i) class and (ii) ethnicity.

It is unacceptable that there are such stark inequalities for women and babies. It is a priority for the Government to make sure that all women and babies receive the high-quality care they deserve, regardless of their background, location, or ethnicity.

We are supporting NHS England as it delivers its three-year plan to make maternity and neonatal care more personalised, safe, compassionate, and equitable for women and babies. As part of this, all Local Maternity and Neonatal Systems are implementing their equity and equality actions plans, which include targeted interventions to tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic minorities and those living in the most deprived areas. All trusts are implementing version three of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which provides maternity units with guidance and interventions to reduce stillbirths, brain injuries, neonatal deaths, preterm births, and inequalities.

We are working closely with NHS England, and the wider sector, to identify further interventions to address inequalities for women and babies. Some of these will require time to implement, but we also need to ensure that there are immediate actions that can begin to drive forward improvements now. This includes the targets needed to drive change, in line with the Government’s commitment to setting an explicit target to close the black and Asian maternal mortality gaps.