To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what plans his Department has to increase the number of midwives employed in hospitals in the next five years.

The configuration of services is a matter for the local National Health Service and there is no national blueprint for how healthcare services should be organised locally, as services need to be tailored to local needs. It is for clinical commissioning groups, in conjunction with provider partners, to give assurance that processes and service specifications are in place which ensures midwifery staffing is appropriate for the delivery of safe, high quality maternity services.

The Government is working with Health Education England for the delivery of sufficient midwifery-training commissions to meet the NHS future service demands and ensure that the right workforce tools are accessible for NHS workforce planners to forecast future maternity requirements.