The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Joint Health Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to discuss the ongoing situation at St Mary's Birth Centre, receive an update on the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland SEND & Inclusion Alliance, and review the committee's work programme. The meeting also included a session for public questions and representations.

Update on St Mary's Birth Centre

A report was scheduled to update the committee on the decision to pause births and postnatal inpatient services at St Mary's Birth Centre (SMBC) in July 2025. The report detailed the ongoing engagement process, which sought experiences from affected patients, families, and staff to inform future decisions. The intended direction, supported by legal advice and consistent with the findings of a 2021 public consultation, was to relocate births to the existing midwifery-led unit at Leicester General Hospital while maintaining community maternity services in Melton Mowbray. The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Integrated Care Board (LLR ICB) was due to consider a full report on 19 March 2026.

The report highlighted that the pause in services at St Mary's was due to concerns over safe staffing and declining birth numbers. In the year prior to the pause, only 92 births took place at the centre, which is less than 1% of births across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Staffing challenges were also noted, with approximately 30% of the community team unavailable due to maternity leave, sickness, or planned absences. The report also mentioned that fewer women were eligible for standalone midwifery units like St Mary's due to an increase in complex needs requiring obstetric or neonatal support.

The engagement process, which ran from 5 January to 15 February 2026, aimed to gather views from those who had used or were planning to use St Mary's, as well as staff. Early emerging themes from this engagement centred on access, the experience of care and support, the importance of clear communication, and workforce perspectives. Feedback also indicated that women valued the postnatal care at St Mary's, including breastfeeding support and continuity of care.

LLR SEND & Inclusion Alliance Update

The committee was scheduled to receive an update on the work of the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland SEND & Inclusion Alliance (SIA). This update was to cover the SIA's approach to co-production, the SEND Change Programme Partnership (CPP), the SEND Aligned Commissioning Programme, the Shaping SEND Futures local community inclusion model, and the Operational Plan for 2026/27.

The report highlighted that the LLR SIA is a Department for Education (DfE)-funded initiative testing proposed policy reforms for children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). The SIA has been working to create a stronger co-production and co-design ethos, shape a more inclusive system, and provide evidence to inform government SEND reform plans. The LLR SIA Operational Plan for 2026/27 includes priorities such as delivering the first-year objectives of the LLR SEND Joint Commissioning Strategy, the Local Integrated Service Offer, and the Shaping SEND Futures Community Inclusion Programme.

Key strategic aims of the LLR SIA include co-producing goals and delivery plans, ensuring children and young people with SEND are supported in mainstream education, fostering a sense of belonging in local communities, facilitating aligned commissioning across health, care, and education systems, and collectively owning challenges and opportunities within the local SEND system. The report also detailed progress in areas such as inclusive mainstream education, with initiatives like PINS (Partnership for Inclusion of Neurodiversity in schools) and ELSEC (Early Language Support for Every Child) showing positive results. The Shaping SEND Futures programme focuses on holistic community-based inclusion, with a case study on social prescribing in Hinckley and Bosworth demonstrating positive outcomes for children, young people, and their families.

Questions, Representations and Statements of Case

A significant portion of the meeting was allocated to addressing sixteen questions submitted by members of the public. These questions covered a range of important issues, including:

• Palantir's Federated Data Platform: Concerns were raised about the adoption of Palantir's Federated Data Platform by University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust (UHL) and Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT), with reference to international human rights proponents Amnesty International urging public bodies to end contracts with Palantir. Questions were asked about the necessity of community consultation, cost-effectiveness analysis compared to alternative solutions, and whether the trusts retain discretion over the platform's use.
• Our Future Hospitals Review: A question was posed regarding the availability and findings of a review into the clinical safety implications of delays in funding for Our Future Hospitals, which was promised to be made public.
• St Mary's Birth Centre and Maternity Services: Multiple questions focused on the closure of St Mary's Birth Centre, including the consideration of postnatal ward usage, the reasons for permanent closure despite temporary staffing challenges, the breach of a promise for a standalone midwife-led unit at Leicester General Hospital, and the safety implications of centralising maternity services. Concerns were also raised about the CQC ratings for maternity care and the confidence of midwives in the safety and value of St Mary's.
• Digital Inclusion and GP Access: Questions were raised about the impact of digitisation on public access to GP services, the potential for a two-tier system, and the scarcity of digital inclusion hubs in rural areas.
• Winter Pressures and System Health Equity: Questions were asked about Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for winter planning, the funding of additional LOROS beds, flu and Covid vaccination uptake, and the reasons for persistent winter pressures and long waiting times in A&E and for ambulances.
• Dental Services: The committee was to receive an update on NHS dentistry, including progress made under national contracts, efforts to increase urgent dental appointments, and work to address oral cancer prevalence.

Work Programme

The committee was scheduled to review and consider future items for inclusion in its work programme. This would allow members to shape the committee's future agenda and ensure it addresses key public health concerns.

The meeting was scheduled to take place on Monday, 23 February 2026, at 10:00 am in Meeting Room G.01, Ground Floor, City Hall, 115 Charles Street, Leicester, LE1 1FZ. The meeting was also to be webcast live.