To ask the Minister of Health to detail the rationale as to why we have not had a maternity strategy since 2018.

While there has been considerable interest in the development of a new maternity strategy, my immediate focus has been on improving the safety, quality and governance of maternity and neonatal services, taking account of the findings and recommendations of several local and national reviews.

A broad programme of work is already underway. Collectively, this will be fundamental to improving outcomes for mothers, babies and their families in Northern Ireland, and will help inform future needs and strategic priorities for maternity and neonatal services, including any consideration of a new maternity strategy.

The establishment of a multi-disciplinary regional Maternal and Newborn Partnership will be central to this work. The Partnership will bring together existing maternity and neonatal structures to lead the development, implementation and oversight of evidence-based, safe, high-quality services. This will also include the development of a regional action plan, which will provide a focus for maternity and neonatal services for the next three to five years.