Agreed to on question.

Agreed to on question.

On Monday, the senior management of the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS foundation trust will meet again to make an important decision: whether enough consultants can be found to reopen maternity services at North Devon district hospital. North Devon’s desperate maternity staffing crisis is entering its 10th week, with all...

On Monday, the senior management of the Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS foundation trust will meet again to make an important decision: whether enough consultants can be found to reopen maternity services at North Devon district hospital. North Devon’s desperate maternity staffing crisis is entering its 10th week, with all...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate and on his indefatigable efforts on behalf of Barnstaple hospital; as he knows, although it is in his constituency, it also serves thousands of people in Torridge, which I have the honour to represent. Does he agree that the question the...

I congratulate the hon. Gentleman on securing this debate and on his indefatigable efforts on behalf of Barnstaple hospital; as he knows, although it is in his constituency, it also serves thousands of people in Torridge, which I have the honour to represent. Does he agree that the question the...

I agree with the right hon. and learned Member and thank him for those comments. I hope the Minister has made a note of them.

It is a 53-mile drive from North Devon district hospital to the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital. We are talking about a catchment area larger than...

I agree with the right hon. and learned Member and thank him for those comments. I hope the Minister has made a note of them.

It is a 53-mile drive from North Devon district hospital to the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital. We are talking about a catchment area larger than...

On the point about rurality, I was alarmed earlier in the week to hear NHS chiefs talking about the fact that in order to consolidate services they may have to cut rural and coastal maternity services further. In Frome and East Somerset I have mothers who routinely travel over an...

On the point about rurality, I was alarmed earlier in the week to hear NHS chiefs talking about the fact that in order to consolidate services they may have to cut rural and coastal maternity services further. In Frome and East Somerset I have mothers who routinely travel over an...

I agree with my hon. Friend. That is precisely the point I am making about rurality and the remote services that many people experience. Many of my constituents would not reach the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital inside two hours. If a hospital shuts down in London, neighbouring units can...

I agree with my hon. Friend. That is precisely the point I am making about rurality and the remote services that many people experience. Many of my constituents would not reach the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital inside two hours. If a hospital shuts down in London, neighbouring units can...

I like my hon. Friend’s analogy of pregnant women having to travel from London and Bristol to give birth. The issue is not just that they are having to travel that distance—it is what they find when they get there. A constituent from Ottery St Mary wrote to me earlier...

I like my hon. Friend’s analogy of pregnant women having to travel from London and Bristol to give birth. The issue is not just that they are having to travel that distance—it is what they find when they get there. A constituent from Ottery St Mary wrote to me earlier...

I totally agree with my hon. Friend that the problem is extending and forcing problems on to neighbouring maternity units. I know that the maternity unit in Exeter is now under pressure because it is having to cope with the births coming from North Devon.

I appreciate the Government’s maternity adviser...

I totally agree with my hon. Friend that the problem is extending and forcing problems on to neighbouring maternity units. I know that the maternity unit in Exeter is now under pressure because it is having to cope with the births coming from North Devon.

I appreciate the Government’s maternity adviser...

I am very grateful to both the Minister and my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Ian Roome) for allowing me the opportunity to contribute to this debate, and I am glad that we have a little bit of time for me to do so. I have to admit...

I am very grateful to both the Minister and my hon. Friend the Member for North Devon (Ian Roome) for allowing me the opportunity to contribute to this debate, and I am glad that we have a little bit of time for me to do so. I have to admit...

I thank the hon. and gallant Member for North Devon (Ian Roome) for raising this very important matter. He calls attention not just to his own constituency but, as we have heard from others, to a broader issue that we face, particularly in our rural and coastal communities. I want...

I thank the hon. and gallant Member for North Devon (Ian Roome) for raising this very important matter. He calls attention not just to his own constituency but, as we have heard from others, to a broader issue that we face, particularly in our rural and coastal communities. I want...

I accept that this is a point about recruitment, but it is also a point about retention. A constituent of mine who visited the maternity ward at Exeter hospital heard that the staff temporarily redeployed there from Barnstaple are having to pay the full car parking charge of £20 per...

I accept that this is a point about recruitment, but it is also a point about retention. A constituent of mine who visited the maternity ward at Exeter hospital heard that the staff temporarily redeployed there from Barnstaple are having to pay the full car parking charge of £20 per...

Yes, of course, and that is what the trust does. I would gently urge all hon. Members to work very closely with the entire trust on these issues to solve these problems. It is absolutely right that the trust is working with MPs. It is reviewing its decision on a...

Yes, of course, and that is what the trust does. I would gently urge all hon. Members to work very closely with the entire trust on these issues to solve these problems. It is absolutely right that the trust is working with MPs. It is reviewing its decision on a...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2026 to Question 29179 on Births: Medical Records, if she will publish the assessment and evidence used to determine that SNOMED coded information should be permitted but not required in the Maternity...

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 22 September 2026 to Question 29179 on Births: Medical Records, if she will publish the assessment and evidence used to determine that SNOMED coded information should be permitted but not required in the Maternity...

Motion, That this House has considered Baby Loss Awareness Week. Agreed to on question.

Motion, That this House has considered Baby Loss Awareness Week. Agreed to on question.

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Baby Loss Awareness Week.

It is a privilege to open this debate again during Baby Loss Awareness Week. I want to start by recognising the bereaved parents participating in the debate today, whether by watching at home, having shared their story with their...

I beg to move,

That this House has considered Baby Loss Awareness Week.

It is a privilege to open this debate again during Baby Loss Awareness Week. I want to start by recognising the bereaved parents participating in the debate today, whether by watching at home, having shared their story with their...

I thank my hon. Friend for his eloquent and moving speech, with lots of practical proposals. On maternity service failures, in April 2021, my constituents Phoebe and Jim Brooks tragically lost their much-wanted and loved son Jasper at Darent Valley hospital a few hours after he was born. The coroner’s...

I thank my hon. Friend for his eloquent and moving speech, with lots of practical proposals. On maternity service failures, in April 2021, my constituents Phoebe and Jim Brooks tragically lost their much-wanted and loved son Jasper at Darent Valley hospital a few hours after he was born. The coroner’s...

Unfortunately, the tragic case my hon. Friend describes is just too common, as is reflected in so many accounts I have heard from families at our all-party group. Yet again, it just adds to the weight of evidence showing that we need urgent and immediate action. We cannot wait. We...

Unfortunately, the tragic case my hon. Friend describes is just too common, as is reflected in so many accounts I have heard from families at our all-party group. Yet again, it just adds to the weight of evidence showing that we need urgent and immediate action. We cannot wait. We...

My hon. Friend has brought forward an incredibly important debate, which will allow many such stories, like the one we have just heard, to be shared. I want to share the story of my constituents whose son Jesse died in their arms just six days after he was born. His...

My hon. Friend has brought forward an incredibly important debate, which will allow many such stories, like the one we have just heard, to be shared. I want to share the story of my constituents whose son Jesse died in their arms just six days after he was born. His...

I pay tribute to those parents, and to so many parents who have launched campaigns in their children’s names. I hope and believe that that particular measure will be considered alongside many other methods and actions that could prevent the tragedies we see all too often. I thank my hon....

I pay tribute to those parents, and to so many parents who have launched campaigns in their children’s names. I hope and believe that that particular measure will be considered alongside many other methods and actions that could prevent the tragedies we see all too often. I thank my hon....

I thank the hon. Member for generously giving way. As he rightly says, the system is currently failing so many mothers, babies and families, and there is often a lack of care, support and compassion. Last year, my constituent Rachel suffered two devastating miscarriages, and she mentioned the insensitivity towards...

I thank the hon. Member for generously giving way. As he rightly says, the system is currently failing so many mothers, babies and families, and there is often a lack of care, support and compassion. Last year, my constituent Rachel suffered two devastating miscarriages, and she mentioned the insensitivity towards...