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The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what proportion of pregnancies result in a diagnosis of post-natal depression.

Alistair Burt

We are advised by the Health and Social Care Information Centre that data is not collected on the diagnosis of post-natal depression.

The NHS Improving Quality report; Improving Access to Perinatal Mental Health Services in England – A review (published September 2015), says that post-natal depression prevalence within the first few post-natal months is estimated to be 13%. This suggests that following the 687,346 maternities in 2014 in England and Wales, there were around 90,000 women in 2014 who suffered from post-natal depression in the first few post-natal months.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, whether a diagnosis of post-natal depression is routinely shared with social services.

Alistair Burt

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published guidance (Clinical Guideline 192 December 2014) that offers evidence-based advice on the recognition, assessment, care and treatment of mental health problems in women during pregnancy and the postnatal period (up to one year after childbirth) and in women who are planning a pregnancy.

The guidance references appropriate sharing of information with healthcare professionals involved in the woman’s care, respecting confidentiality and rights of the child (particularly in relation to girls and young women) and involving family and carers, with the agreement of the woman. There is no specific reference to social services, nor does it suggest that diagnoses should be routinely shared with them.

The majority of diagnoses take place in primary care. If a woman is diagnosed with post-natal depression whilst being cared for within specialised services, including perinatal mental health services, routine notification to social services for patients does not take place. Where child protection concerns arise, a notification to social services would occur prior to discharge.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children aged up to three years old were taken into care in the last five years; and what assessment she has made of the reasons why those children were taken into care.

Edward Timpson

The number of children aged 0-3 years, that started to be looked after in the last five years ending 31 March, and the main reason why they entered care, is shown in the table below. This information is for England only.

Source: SSDA903

1. Numbers have been rounded to the nearest 10.
2. Only the first occasion on which a child was taken into care in the year has been counted.

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Gavin Robinson on 2016-02-08.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what information his Department holds on whether there is a causal link between a mother suffering from post-natal depression and the number of children aged up to three years old taken into care.

Alistair Burt

Neither the Department of Health nor the Department for Education holds the information requested.

The latest statistics on looked-after children at both national and local authority levels for the financial year 2013 to 2014 can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption–2

Table A1 (National Tables) gives a breakdown of the primary reasons for children becoming looked after.

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