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Maternity services in England

The House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee has described England’s maternity services as being “in a state of crisis”.

Since 2015, there have been a number of national reviews into the safety of maternity services, as well as high profile investigations into care at individual maternity trusts and calls for a national inquiry into maternity care.

A National review of maternity services in England, 2022 to 2024, by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), identified systematic failures in maternity care. It concluded that poor care had become normalised within maternity care and that failures were widespread rather than isolated to the high-profile scandals reported on. No services inspected by the CQC as part of its inspection programme were rated as ‘outstanding’ for being safe. 47% were rated as ‘requires improvement’ for the safety, while 35% were rated as ‘good’ and 18% were rated as ‘inadequate’. 

Against this backdrop, in June 2025, the UK Government launched a national  investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services. The chair of this rapid investigation, Baroness Valerie Amos, was tasked with reviewing the quality and safety of maternity and neonatal services across England in order to deliver a clear set of national recommendations for safe, high-quality and compassionate care.

The government simultaneously announced the creation of a National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce, “chaired by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and made up of a panel of esteemed experts and bereaved families.” The Taskforce will focus on long-term system reform.

On 30 June 2026, Baroness Amos published the final report and recommendations of the national independent investigation into NHS maternity and neonatal services. The review found, that across all 12 NHS Trusts investigated, women and families were not listened to and their concerns were dismissed. It also found “unacceptable levels of racism and discrimination embedded within the system”. The investigations final report and recommendations will form the basis of a national action plan, developed and implemented by the National Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce.

This briefing gives an overview of women’s experiences of maternity services in England, including disparities in the care received by women from minority ethnic groups. It provides details of investigations into maternity units at individual NHS trusts, the government-commissioned national maternity and neonatal investigation, and policies to improve care.

This briefing supplements the Library paper Quality and safety of maternity care (England) which contains information on key policy documents and developments (until February 2025).

Health services are a devolved policy responsibility. This briefing refers to the position in England.