Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure (a) midwives and (b) maternity units across Greater Manchester have up-to-date equipment.

The responsibility for local funding decisions, including on equipment, ultimately rests with the appropriate National Health Service commissioner. To ensure midwives and maternity units across Greater Manchester have up-to-date equipment, the following steps are being taken locally:

- maternity units are required to maintain an equipment maintenance register and to implement a rolling program for the renewal and purchase of equipment; and

- midwives are required to adhere to provider policies that mandate checking equipment for suitability and that it is in good working order before use.