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 end recruitment freezes in maternity services.

On 11 August 2025, the Government announced the Graduate Guarantee for nurses and midwives. The guarantee will ensure that there are enough positions for every newly qualified midwife in England. The package of measures will unlock thousands of jobs, ensuring thousands of new posts are easier to access by removing barriers for National Health Service trusts, creating opportunities for graduates and enabling a seamless transition from training to employment.

Vacant maternity support worker posts will be temporarily converted to Band 5 midwifery roles, backed by £8 million to create new opportunities specifically for newly qualified midwives and to further ease the recruitment strain.

These new measures aim to tackle graduates’ concerns about job availability and ensure the NHS has the right staff to provide the best possible care to patients everywhere.