Current status: Answered by Jenni Minto on 17 December 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, what its response is to the report, Independent Investigation into Maternity and Neonatal Services in England – Reflections and Initial Impressions, which was published 9 December 2025, and how this will inform its national investigation into maternity services.
We note the publication of Baroness Amos’ Reflections and Initial Impressions report with interest. The report records issues Baroness Amos has identified from her engagement with families in England and provides updates on her investigation and next steps. The report also describes the five areas of work defined in the Terms of Reference: the local investigation phase, a system wide review, inequalities, a review of the legal framework regarding the role of Coroners in relation to stillbirths and compensation following harm caused by clinical negligence and the development of one set of national standards.
While we recognise some similarities between Baroness Amos’ findings and what Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s independent, ongoing inspection programme is reporting, it is important to recognise that Baroness Amos is conducting a rapid investigation into maternity and neonatal services in England. The Scottish Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce will play a key role in ensuring lessons are learned and improvements are made following investigations and reviews in Scotland. It will also define the scope of a national review in Scotland.
We will continue to review outputs from the English rapid investigation as they are published.