Category Archives: Report Publication

Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care 2026 – Lessons learned to inform maternity care from the UK and Ireland Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths and Morbidity 2022-24

This is the compiled materials for the 2026 MBRRACE-UK Saving Lives, Improving Mothers’ Care annual report published on the 10th September 2026.

The full compiled 2026 report including all supplementary material is available via link below. Alongside the full report is a shorter ‘State of the Nation’ report containing limited surveillance and confidential enquiry findings, a lay summary and infographics.

For links go to https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports/maternal-reports/maternal-report-2022-2024

See also:

September 16, 2026

Gender pensions gap effectively means retired women go 4 months a year without a pension – TUC

  • Retired women get a third less pension than men – an income gap of more than £7,000 a year.
  • Women approaching retirement have built up half the workplace pension of men on average and are more likely to have no pension wealth at all.
  • TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak calls on Pensions Commission to deliver a “bold plan” to close gender pensions gap.

2 September 2026 was ‘gender pensions gap day’ when the average retired woman would effectively stop receiving a pension if it was paid out at the same rate as men, says the TUC.

Prospect union has calculated that the income gap between men and women in retirement today is 32.9% – more than double the gender pay gap, and the equivalent of the average retired woman going for the four remaining months of the year without a pension.

The TUC is today calling on the Pensions Commission – established by the government to make recommendations on the pension system – to set out a “bold plan” to close this gap.

This should include measures to make workplace pensions work better for people in low paid and part-time jobs, and deliver a State Pension boost for those with unpaid caring responsibilities.

Reasons for the gap 

The union body says that the main drivers of the gender pensions income gap are:

  • Unpaid caring responsibilities: women are much more likely to take time out of paid work or to work part-time due to caring commitments, either bringing up children or looking after older or disabled relatives. One in ten women aged 30-34 are out of paid work because of caring commitments – and women are 18 times more likely than men in this age group to be economically inactive for this reason. Analysis from the Pensions Commission shows the gap in pensions contributions widens significantly when women reach their thirties, and after the birth of their first child.
  • Gender pay gap: across their working lives, women persistently earn less than men and are more likely to work part-time and therefore accrue lower pension contributions. In particular, women are more likely than men to earn below £10,000 or to work in multiple jobs that pay below this rate – the threshold for employers to have to put workers into a workplace pension.
  • State pension: historic differences in the state pension have left currently retired women with lower state pensions on average.

Pensions Commission

The Pension Commission was established by the government last year to make recommendations on the long-term adequacy, fairness and sustainability of the pension system. Its final report is expected early next year.

The TUC says the commission’s interim report – published in May – exposes how women, disabled people, and black and ethnic minority people are at considerably higher risk of not receiving a decent income in retirement.

The report describes a system in which, although participation rates in workplace pensions have doubled due to auto-enrolment, up to 19 million working-age people are not on track for an adequate retirement income.

The TUC says the Pensions Commission provides a much-needed opportunity to close the gender pensions gap and ensure that everyone receives a decent retirement income.

The TUC has highlighted three key solutions for narrowing the gender pensions gap for women retiring in the future:

  • Reforming the occupational pension system so that people on low pay don’t miss out. This should include phasing out the £10,000 automatic-enrolment earnings threshold that excludes many women from workplace pensions, calculating contributions from the first pound of earnings, and ensuring low paid workers can benefit from employer pension contributions even if they are unable to contribute themselves.
  • Ensuring the State Pension better recognises the value of unpaid caring and addresses the penalty faced by those who take time out of paid work because of caring responsibilities. This should include a Carer’s Credit to replace lost workplace pension contributions with additional State Pension on top of the flat-rate New State Pension.
  • Fixing the staffing crises in social care and childcare and ensuring universal, flexible, high-quality childcare is available to all. This will support women to stay in work whilst they balance work and care and address the underlying drivers of the gender pensions gap.

Notes:

Extracts from a longer press release at https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/lese/gender-pensions-gap-effectively-means-retired-women-go-4-months-year-without-pension-tuc

September 16, 2026

First UK-wide clinical guidelines for paediatric non-fatal strangulation launched to transform the clinical response – IFAS

The Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS) has recently published the UK’s first Guidelines for clinical management of paediatric (under 16) non-fatal strangulation, closing a significant gap in clinical practice and providing dedicated guidance for healthcare professionals for the first time.

Building on IFAS’s previously published adult clinical guidelines for emergency and acute care settings, the new guidance responds to the clear need for dedicated recommendations for paediatric patients. Until now, clinicians caring for children following suspected or confirmed non-fatal strangulation had no dedicated UK guidance and often had to rely on protocols developed for adults. The new guidelines have been developed by a UK-wide Intercollegiate Working Group convened by IFAS, bringing together more than 60 senior clinicians, Royal Colleges, professional bodies and frontline professionals from across the UK to develop evidence-informed, consensus-based recommendations.

The guidance arrives against a backdrop of increasing concern. Home Office data shows recorded non-fatal strangulation and suffocation offences against under-18s in England and Wales increased from 2,130 in 2022–23 to 4,888 in 2024–25 (IFAS Police Report Data, 2023–2025). Evidence also shows that hanging/strangulation is the most common method of suicide among children and young people in England, accounting for 69% of deaths in 2019–20 (National Child Mortality Database Programme, 2021).

The guidelines provide practical recommendations covering clinical assessment, imaging, safeguarding, mental health, admission and discharge planning, while recognising that children who have experienced strangulation may present with little or no visible injury despite the potential for significant harm.

Alongside the clinical guidelines, IFAS has also published a new information leaflet for children, young people and their families following a medical assessment for non-fatal strangulation. The leaflet has been developed to help children, young people and their families better understand non-fatal strangulation, what to expect following a medical assessment, and where they can access further support and information.

Dr Catherine Hayhurst, Consultant in Emergency Medicine, Co-Chair Quality in Emergency Care Committee, Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM), said:

“RCEM is pleased that a review of the evidence has shown that there is no need to routinely do a CT angiogram in young people given the radiation exposure. This update of the guidance continues to have an emphasis on safeguarding and also highlights mental health issues for patients presenting with non-fatal strangulation.”

Professor Cath White, Medical Director, IFAS, said:

“There simply wasn’t a UK guideline for managing non-fatal strangulation in children, so clinicians were doing their best with guidance written for adults. We brought together more than 60 clinicians from across the UK – including Royal Colleges, specialist organisations and frontline professionals – to build something better. We listened, challenged one another and developed guidance that addresses a real need. These are the first UK guidelines, but they won’t be the last. As the evidence grows, we’ll continue to learn and refine them to ensure children receive the best possible care.”

Bernie Ryan OBE, Chief Executive of IFAS, said:

“Our adult clinical guidelines helped establish a more consistent response to non-fatal strangulation across the UK. Children deserve that same standard of evidence-based clinical and trauma-informed care. These new guidelines, together with the new information leaflet developed in partnership with SafeLives Changemakers, survivors and Beyond Equality, are the result of extraordinary collaboration across the healthcare community and represent an important step forward in improving outcomes for children and young people.”

About IFAS

The Institute for Addressing Strangulation (IFAS) is the UK’s leading authority on non-fatal strangulation, established in October 2022 with Home Office funding. IFAS works across research, training, policy and survivor engagement, alongside partners in government, healthcare, criminal justice, and specialist services, to improve the UK’s understanding and response to strangulation. Since 2022, IFAS and its partners have trained more than 22,000 frontline professionals, including through its partnership with SafeLives.

https://ifas.org.uk/blog/https-first-uk-wide-clinical-guidelines-for-paediatric-non-fatal-strangulation-launched-to-transform-the-clinical-response/

 

August 26, 2026

Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s annual report: 2024 to 2025 – Home Office

This has been a significant year for my office. As I reflect on the work we have undertaken, I am struck both by how much we have achieved and by how much we still need to do to ensure every survivor of domestic abuse receives the protection, support and justice they deserve.

At the heart of everything we do are the people this office exists to serve. This year, we heard directly from nearly 700 survivors about their experience of the criminal justice system, engaged with over 100 children and young people with lived experience of domestic abuse, and provided guidance to nearly 400 people who wrote to my office seeking help and support. These are not statistics – they are people whose courage and determination continues to shape everything I do.

A particular highlight of this year was our first Survivor Summit, which brought together 25 survivors to speak directly to ministers and senior officials about the changes they want to see. That 89% of attendees felt heard by government tells me that this kind of engagement matters enormously. It must continue – and it must translate into action.

The publication of Shifting the Scales in January 2025 marked an important milestone in my work to improve the criminal justice system’s response to domestic abuse.

Examining the system from end to end, the report exposed serious failings – including the deeply troubling finding that only 4% of alleged domestic abuse perpetrators are dismissed from the police force. I made 12 recommendations to government, and I am encouraged that six have already seen meaningful progress. I will continue to press for action on the remaining six with determination.

This year also required my office to respond rapidly to emerging pressures. When the UK government announced emergency measures to ease the prison capacity crisis, my office acted swiftly to call for the exclusion of domestic abuse perpetrators – and I am pleased that pressure secured an important protection. Vigilance of this kind is critical if we are to ensure government delivers for victims, and I will not hesitate to use my voice when survivors’ safety is at risk.

We have seen progress on safeguarding migrant survivors, recognising children as victims, and strengthening the family justice response. But lasting change requires sustained political commitment, adequate resources and strong cross departmental collaboration.

The government’s ambition to halve violence against women and girls within a decade is bold and right. My office stands ready to support that mission by holding ministers to account, amplifying survivor voices and driving the systemic changes they so urgently need to see. The work continues.

Dame Nicole Jacobs
Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales

Available to read online at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/domestic-abuse-commissioners-annual-report-2024-to-2025/domestic-abuse-commissioners-annual-report-2024-to-2025-accessible

July 27, 2026

Lack of funding to learn from domestic abuse related deaths “deeply concerning” – Domestic Abuse Commissioner

On 27 May 2026, the UK Government has issued its formal response to the Domestic Abuse Commissioner’s report into how learnings from Domestic Homicide Reviews (DHRs) – an independent review conducted when someone over 16 loses their life because of violence, abuse or neglect – are acted on both nationally and locally.

The report made several proposals to government on how it could improve the independent oversight of recommendations stemming from DHRs to better implement learnings, so these tragic deaths do not happen again. The Commissioner also called for dedicated funding to be made available to councils to deliver the growing number of DHRs they are needing to conduct.

The Commissioner was pleased to see the government reiterate its intention to develop a digital oversight tool to ensure recommendations are captured – an intervention announced in early March by the then Safeguarding Minister, Jess Phillips.

However, she has expressed frustration that the official response does not provide any further update on what funding will be made available to deliver the tool, a timeline for its rollout, or how it will improve accountability for government departments and wider agencies on implementing recommendations made to them.

She also said she is “deeply concerned” that the government has outright rejected her call to provide dedicated funding to councils to help them deliver DHRs.

Since 2011, local councils have been mandated to conduct domestic homicide reviews – which the Domestic Abuse Commissioner and the Local Government Association estimate cost an average of £10,000 –  yet no funding has ever been allocated for Community Safety Partnerships (CSPs) – a group of agencies responsible for assessing and addressing local safety issues – to do so.

In 2016, DHRs were then broadened in scope to include domestic-abuse-related suicides and again no additional funding arrangements were made. This change, welcomed by the Commissioner, has led to an increase in the number of deaths meeting the criteria for a review.

The growing rate of DHRs councils must oversee has also come against the backdrop of local authorities’ budgets being cut or frozen. This is leaving local councils with ever dwindling resources which they must also use to fund public services.

Without dedicated funding, local areas have told the Domestic Abuse Commissioner that they will struggle to deliver these potentially life-saving reviews in the future. This risks creating a postcode lottery, with review decisions being made on financial grounds and opportunities missed to take learnings forward.

While the response acknowledges the pressures faced by councils and indicates that updated statutory guidance will help improve the effectiveness of delivery, there is no timeline for when this will be published, despite the public consultation to improve the statutory guidance being launched more than two years ago.

The government has an ambitious target to halve violence against women and girls within a decade and centres reducing female domestic homicide as key to achieving this.  The Commissioner is urging the government to be “bolder and braver” in its decisions to speed up delivery for people subject to domestic abuse, and ensure vital lessons are not lost.

Dame Nicole Jacobs, Domestic Abuse Commissioner for England and Wales, said:

“When someone loses their life to domestic abuse, we should be doing all we can to learn from this tragedy and ensure it never happens again.

“While I’m pleased to see the government reaffirm its commitment to deliver a digital oversight tool, the lack of dedicated funding to ensure councils can conduct these potentially life-saving reviews is deeply concerning – particularly when councils are telling me they will struggle to commission them if further resource isn’t found.

“In the last few weeks, this government has been accused of delivering incremental change for victims and survivors of abuse. If it wants to achieve its mission and be a world leader in tackling VAWG it must be braver and bolder in its decisions.

“Ministers must reconsider this response and make dedicated funding available to ensure DHRs can be effectively conducted. This will not just deliver genuine improvements for people subject to domestic abuse, it will ultimately save lives.

“I want to once again thank the areas that, in spite of funding challenges, gave their time, expertise and commitment to piloting the oversight mechanism.”

Notes:

  1. Read the Commissioner’s full Learning from Loss report. You can also see a full appendix of national DHR recommendations by government department.
  2. Average DHR costs calculated from the Commissioner’s 2024 survey, conducted in partnership with the Local Government Association.
  3. The government’s VAWG Strategy has sent the number of female homicides as a sub-headline metric of its success in achieving its aims. The first pillar of the Strategy focuses on the prevention of VAWG and early intervention for victims and survivors. DHRs provide a wealth of knowledge in achieving both.

https://www.domesticabusecommissioner.uk/lack-of-funding-domestic-abuse-related-death-review/

 

June 5, 2026