What steps his Department is taking to improve ma [2D [K maternity care.

The nation should be grateful for this Secretary [K of State and for what he is doing for maternal services, yet at Wythenshawe [11D [K Wythenshawe hospital in my constituency, the most recent Care Quality Commi [5D [K Commission report rated maternity services inadequate for safety. What assu [4D [K assurances can the Secretary of State give that the improvements that he ha [2D [K has outlined will be felt by mums locally?

The Secretary of State and I are equally frustrat [8D [K frustrated that more progress has not been made despite numerous inquiries [K dating right back to the Morecambe Bay inquiry in 2014. Does he agree that [K one reform would be full continuity of care for every pregnant mum, with a [K team of clinicians led by a named senior clinician responsible from pre-bir [7D [K pre-birth to post-birth?

A four-month-old baby in my constituency died after being placed in an unsafe sleeping position by someone who called themselves a maternity nurse despite having no medical qualifications. The coroner who worked on the case has called on the Secretary of State to regulate the infant sleep industry urgently. As it stands, anyone can call themselves a maternity nurse and create the illusion of expertise, all while providing life-threatening advice on sleep for babies. I know that the Secretary of State is aware of this case and is working on this issue, but can he provide an update on what he is doing to prevent a tragedy such as the one in my constituency from ever happening again?

Does the Secretary of State understand that the remarks that he made on Sky television prior to the recess about the maternity unit at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital in Margate were ill informed, anachronistic, deeply offensive and damaging to morale? I was heavily involved, and have been since, in the events following the death of baby Harry Richford at the hospital, and also in Bill Kirkup’s report. Massive improvements have been made since then, but the thing that is missing is the funding that was promised by the previous Government for the improvement of the real estate. When is that money going to be forthcoming?

Baroness Amos’s recent review found that England’s maternity system was not working: poor quality care covered up, systemic issues around racism and even collapsing ceilings in maternity units. Poor maternity care has not only left many families devastated at a time that should have been joyful for them, as too many of my constituents know; it also costs the NHS £1.3 billion every year in medical negligence payments. Liberal Democrats are calling for a consultant to be present on every maternity unit 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and for guaranteed one-to-one midwifery care for every woman who is in labour as part of a £600 million-a-year maternity rescue package. Does the Secretary of State agree that that would be money very well spent, preventing families from experiencing the heartbreak of an injury or even worse to their new baby or mum, and saving the taxpayer billions every year?