Baroness Merron (Lab)

I thank my noble friend for echoing the warm response we have had from the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and from a number of the other royal colleges. I put on record my thanks to the royal colleges, including RCOG, for their engagement throughout to help us get to where we are. That is another reason I have confidence in this renewed strategy. I absolutely agree with my noble friend about the centrality of the workforce and the need for a comprehensive workforce plan. The trajectory, which I looked into, is on the way up for consultants in obs and gynae: we have 3.8% more than we had in 2025 and—I was rather shocked by this figure—81.5% more than we had in 2018. That is not to say the matter is over. The workforce plan will be published in the spring—we are currently in that season, so that gives some idea to noble Lords. We have discussed in this House many times how long spring goes, but we are definitely still there. I have just one other point. I do not wish to speak for my noble friend Lady Amos, who is conducting an independent inquiry into maternity, which the noble Lord, Lord Kamall, also referred to, but I am sure she will have a number of things to say, including about workforce.