NHS MATERNITY SERVICES

That this House is concerned by the £55 million fall in spending on NHS maternity services in the last financial year; notes with concern that the share of the NHS budget spent on maternity services fell from 3 per cent. to 2 per cent. between 1997-98 and 2006-07; is worried that this has happened despite the number of births in England rising by 13 per cent. over the last five years to stand at the highest level since 1993; welcomes the commitment by the Department of Health to increase the NHS maternity services budget by £122 million by 2010-11; recognises however that the deadline for delivering on the ambitious and much-needed guarantees made in the Maternity Matters strategy is the end of 2009; and therefore urges the Government to announce in the forthcoming budget an additional, immediate and substantial step change in funding for NHS maternity services.