Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many mother and baby beds were available in mental health units or hospitals in England in each of the last seven years.

The number of mother and baby beds is not collected routinely. NHS England is leading work to create four new 8-bedded mother and baby units in areas with particular access issues. The procurement process for these units is underway and will mean that by 2020, 30,000 more women will have access to care every year. A number of different reports provides the number of beds included in the following table.

Mother and Baby beds in England

2010 data from National Perinatal Mental Health Project Report, March 2011

2013 data from NHS England Service Specification 2013

2015 NHS England National Expert Reference Group Report 2015