Baroness Julia Cumberlege and Sir Cyril Chantler are stepping down from their positions as chair and vice chair of NHS England’s Maternity Stakeholder Council at the end of March 2023 after seven years in post.

Baroness Julia Cumberlege said: “Maternity care is on a journey of improvement. The goal is to make services as safe and as personalised as possible. The journey is not over, much has been achieved but more remains to be done, and we are confident that NHS England’s work will continue through the single delivery plan with the legacy of Better Births as the guiding vision.”

Sir Cyril Chantler said: “Maternity care should always have mothers, babies and families at its centre. It needs to be shaped around our service users, it must be safe and it needs to be based on informed choices, which is why the role of the stakeholder council has been so pivotal to the improvement of maternity care nationally in England and I am proud to have been part of it.”

Dame Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer for England, said: “Julia and Cyril have always shown unwavering dedication to mothers, babies and families in their roles, helping to ensure they are at the very heart of the maternity transformation programme.

“On behalf of my colleagues in maternity and neonatal teams nationally, and on behalf of the women, babies and families that Julia and Cyril have worked to support, thank you for your incredible contributions and we wish you all the best for the future.”

NHS England will conduct a recruitment process for a new chair of the Maternity Stakeholder Council moving forward.