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 help ensure that Black, Asian, and other minority ethnic women receive equitable access to high-quality maternity care in (a) areas with significant health inequalities and (b) other areas.

It is unacceptable that there are such 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.

The National Health Service’s Three-Year Delivery Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services sets national measures to improve maternity and neonatal services by making care more personalised and equitable. A key objective within the plan is to reduce inequalities for all in maternity access, experience, and outcomes, to improve equity for mothers and babies. As part of the plan, all local areas have published Equity and Equality Action Plans, which set out tailored interventions that will tackle inequalities for women and babies from ethnic backgrounds and for those living in the most deprived areas. Trusts are also implementing Version 3 of the Saving Babies Lives Care Bundle, which provides maternity units with guidance and interventions to reduce stillbirths, neonatal brain injury, neonatal death, and preterm birth.

The Department continues to work closely with the NHS as it delivers these initiatives.

The Department is also considering what longer term action can be taken to tackle disparities in outcomes and experiences for black, Asian, and minority ethnic women. This includes working closely with NHS England, and the wider sector, to identify the right actions and interventions that will deliver the required change.