§ 2.45 p.m.
§ Lord EnnalsMy Lords, I beg leave to ask the first Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
§ The Question was as follows:
§ To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the recruitment of midwife trainees will be adequate to meet the anticipated demand for midwifery services in the future.
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Health and Social Security (Baroness Trumpington)My Lords, it is for individual health authorities to determine their future requirements for student midwives in the light of local needs and circumstances.
§ Lord EnnalsMy Lords, will the noble Baroness accept that I am very disappointed at her reply? Is she aware that in the report by the Royal College of Nursing to the Pay Review Body the college revealed that there is now a deficiency of nearly 24 per cent. in the funded establishment of trained midwives, and that the trend is getting worse each year? Rather than just referring to the health authorities, can the Minister say what the department is doing to ensure that the pay and career structure within the midwifery profession provides adequate reward and encouragement to get people to join what is a noble and important profession?
§ Baroness TrumpingtonMy Lords, of course I entirely agree with the noble Lord, Lord Ennals, that it is a noble profession. With regard to pay, as the noble Lord will know, the pay of NHS nursing and midwifery staff is determined in the light of the recommendations of an independent review body. It is a matter for the review body concerning midwives, which will take into account all evidence from interested parties. Should the noble Lord wish for more information on the number of student midwives in training, information supplied by the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting shows that the numbers increased by 26 per cent. over the past 12 months.
§ Lord EnnalsMy Lords, does the noble Baroness realise that only one-fifth of those who have been trained as midwives are now in the midwifery profession, due to the pay and conditions? Is she aware of what is said in the report from the Royal College of Midwives? It states:
At all levels of the midwifery profession morale is low".Surely this is a matter for the department and not simply one to be fobbed off on the health authorities.
§ Baroness TrumpingtonMy Lords, the noble Lord, Lord Ennals, refers again to the issue of pay. I have already given him the answer to that. As I have also said, the number of midwifery students is rising and the number of midwives employed in the NHS continues to increase. At 30th September 1983—the latest date for which detailed information is available—there were 17,310 full-time equivalents: an increase of 4.7 per cent. compared with 2.4 per cent. in 1982.