Overview
- The government will work with families in April to set the review’s terms of reference.
- The inquiry will include eligible cases by default unless families opt out, examining harms from 2011 through 2025.
- Individual clinical case reviews are expected to begin in August 2026, with learning and recommendations shared on an ongoing basis.
- The review will assess stillbirths, neonatal and maternal deaths, serious incidents and hypoxic injuries, and it will probe governance, accountability and how concerns were handled.
- The appointment follows BBC reporting of potentially preventable deaths, with Leeds flagged as a perinatal mortality outlier and CQC downgrades in 2025, while more than 40 families pursue legal claims.