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 improve maternity and neonatal care for people in (a) South Holland and the Deepings constituency and (b) Lincolnshire.

Maternity and neonatal care in the South Holland and the Deepings constituency is delivered locally by Lincolnshire Local Maternity and Neonatal System. They are implementing the Continuity of Carer model of midwifery care so that women receive dedicated support from the same midwifery team throughout their pregnancy. This model will prioritise areas with higher deprivation and complex needs and aims to improve care for people in South Holland and the Deepings.

For Lincolnshire, the main provider for maternity care across the county is the United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust. The trust has taken several steps to improve maternity and neonatal care such as implementing the Continuity of Carer model and offering specialised services for women to receive dedicated support to meet specific needs, for example through the Perinatal Community Mental Health Team and Perinatal Trauma and Loss Care Service. Additionally, there are community initiatives, including a breastfeeding campaign, ongoing workforce development initiatives, such as career pathways for maternity support workers, and innovative neonatal staffing models.

The trust has also seen a reduction in women smoking at the time of delivery from 17.1% in 2020/21 to 8.4% in 2024/25, ahead of integrated care system targets.