To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to reduce the rate of infant mortality in (a) Birmingham and (b) the West Midlands.

Most infant deaths occur in the neonatal period, within 28 days after births. Birmingham and Solihull Local Maternity System have agreed trajectories to reduce neonatal mortality rates in line with the national ambition to halve 2010 neonatal mortality rates by 2025.

The Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships are working to reduce neonatal mortality across Local Maternity Systems. Key interventions include implementing an enhanced and targeted continuity of carer model of midwifery care to improve outcomes for the most vulnerable mothers and babies; increased personalisation and delivering care closer to home; and initiatives to reduce smoking in pregnancy and increase rates of breastfeeding.