Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the findings in the Care Quality Commission's 2024 Maternity Survey; and what plans they have to address those areas where the survey reported an increase in poor maternity experiences.

The Care Quality Commission’s 2024 Maternity Survey indicates that women’s experiences of maternity services have mostly either remained similar to 2023, or have shown small levels of decline. Whilst there have been improvements to some areas of maternity and neonatal care provision, such as mental health support during pregnancy, we recognise that the survey shows that women are not always receiving the standard of care they should expect.

NHS England’s three-year delivery plan for maternity and neonatal services continues to make progress in delivering important improvements for services. For example, all women who have given birth now receive a six-to-eight-week postnatal check-up, and Specialist Perinatal Mental Health Services now have full population coverage to support women with, or at risk of, mental health issues, with a range of treatments including support clinics, talking therapies, and pre-conception advice.

The Government recognises the need to go further to ensure that women get the maternity care they deserve, and will use the results of this survey to help inform its next steps on improving maternity and neonatal care.