Metro journalists select and curate the products that feature on our site. If you make a purchase via links on this page we will earn commission – learn more

Happy National Lipstick Day, to those who observe! 

Ok, so we know that National Lipstick Day isn’t actually until 29 July, but thanks to Delilah, there’s every reason to celebrate early. 

In some very exciting news, the B Corp certified beauty brand is treating customers to a lip-smacking 15% off its coveted lip liners, lipsticks, lip saviours and lip glosses right now until 31 July. Simply enter the code ‘DELILAHLIP15’ at checkout to secure your discount. 

Throughout the whole of May, the ever-generous Delilah has also decided to support The Eve Appeal by donating 10% of all lip product sales to raise awareness and fund vital research of gynecological cancers. We applaud you, Delilah. 

So, whether you’re loyal to a barely-there nude, partial to a glossy pink or ready to make a statement in pillarbox red, you now have the perfect excuse to shop Delilah’s luxe lip collection. 

If you’re yet to discover the award-winning British beauty brand, then let us get you acquainted.  

Known for its commitment to cruelty-free, vegan-friendly products, Delilah isn’t just charitable, it also boasts some of the creamiest, long wearing, good-for-skin formulas we’ve ever come across. 

Take the bestselling Lip Line Lip Pencil for instance. Creamy, soft and totally waterproof, it comes in four neutral shades which work perfectly to emphasise your lip shape and plump your pout.

Delilah Lip Line Long Wear Retractable Lip Pencil

Available in four neutral skin-tone shades, the Lip Line Long Wear Retractable Lip Pencil from Delilah plumps up your pout and enhances definition.

With a creamy, long-lasting formula, this waterproof lip liner doesn’t drag on the skin or bleed into the fine lines around the mouth. 

Buy NOW FOR £22.50 (USE CODE DELILAHLIP15 FOR 15% OFF)

Formulated to glide along the lip line without tugging, it’s particularly suited to those with mature skin as it doesn’t settle into fine lines or bleed into the skin surrounding the mouth. 

If you’re more of a gloss girl, then look no further than the Colour Gloss. Formulated with a botanical cellular activator that actively smooths lips over time, as well as jojoba oil, olive extract and vitamin E, not only does it leave lips looking juicy and plump, it actually helps fix dry flaky lips with every wear.

Delilah Colour Gloss Ultimate Shine Lip Gloss

For juicy, shiny lips try Delilah’s Colour Gloss Ultimate Shine Lip Gloss.

Available in 5 flattering shades, it’s formulated with skin-nourishing ingredients including jojoba oil, olive oil extract and a botanical cellular activator which actively smooths lips over time.

Buy Now for £24 (USE CODE DELILAHLIP15 FOR 15% OFF)

Available in five beautiful shades, including rose pink and neutral taupe, it’s non-sticky, comfortable to wear and seriously long-wearing. There’s nothing not to love, really. 

And if lip care is more your sort of thing, why not slather yourself in Delilah’s cult-status Lip Saviour Colour Enhancing Lip Oil. 

Delilah Lip Saviour Colour Enhancing Lip Oil

Made with custom-adapting pigments, the Delilah Lip Saviour Colour Enhancing Lip Oil reacts to your skin’s unique chemistry to produce a subtle flush of colour on the lips.

Moisturising ingredients such as argan oil, coconut extract and jojoba oil also ensures lips are left moisturised, healthy and plump.

Buy Now FOR £30 (USE CODE DELILAHLIP15 FOR 15% OFF)

Designed to react to your skin’s pH, it contains custom-adapting pigment technology that leaves lips with a subtle wash of colour that suits your skin tone. 

Not only that, it’s also formulated with a plethora of nourishing ingredients including argan oil, jojoba oil and coconut extract, which cover lips in a blanket of hydration and plenty of shine. 

So, go on – consider this your official invitation to upgrade your lip game. Just remember, you can get 15% off Delilah’s lip products until 31 July with the discount code ‘DELILAHLIP15’ and this May, 10% of every lip sale will go to The Eve Appeal. 

Talk about lip service. 

Follow Metro across our social channels, on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram

Share your views in the comments below

MORE: Bloom & Wild’s Father’s Day gifts start from £24 – and there’s 15% off

MORE: The Metro daily cartoon by Guy Venables

MORE: Is Andy Burnham’s path to Westminster going to be a disaster? Readers discuss

The full list of food which could see prices drop is expected to include biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit and nuts

Advertisement

Shoppers could save on the cost of biscuits and chocolate as part of a package of measures being set out by Rachel Reeves to ease the impact of the Iran war. The Government is cutting import tariffs on more than 100 types of product in a move that is expected to save consumers more than £150 million a year.

The Chancellor also set out a “Great British Summer Savings” scheme, including free bus travel for children in England during the school holidays in August. In the Commons on Thursday, Ms Reeves will give details of policies to tackle the cost-of-living squeeze triggered by Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East but is not expected to announce immediate help with rising energy bills.

The household energy price cap is predicted to rise by £209 a year from July after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz pushed up global oil and gas prices. Ms Reeves may set out more details of her contingency planning but she is expected to wait until September before finalising any package of targeted support for households over the winter months, when more energy is used.

The plan to suspend tariffs on some food imports is part of the Government’s wider effort to combat rising prices. The full list of products will be published next week but is expected to include biscuits, chocolate, dried fruit and nuts.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “We know many hard‑working families are still feeling the squeeze and too often think they have to hold back. By giving every child free bus travel throughout August and cutting tariffs on everyday food items, we’re putting money back into people’s pockets and making life that bit easier.

“This government is focused on practical steps that help right now — easing pressure on household budgets, supporting parents during the school holidays, and backing British businesses.”

The free bus travel scheme will allow every child aged five to 15 in England to travel on participating local routes. The Chancellor is committing more than £100 million to fund the free fares scheme and to support bus services facing increased costs.

Ms Reeves said: “My number one priority is protecting households from rising costs. This summer I want every family to be able to enjoy themselves, that’s why we’re launching the Great British Summer Savings Scheme, and why we’re helping kids with free bus travel throughout August.

“As the war in Iran pushes prices up at home, my economic plan is the right one. I will continue to make the right choices, to protect households and businesses, and build a stronger and more secure Britain.”

The latest package comes after the Government announced an extension of the 5p cut in fuel duty until the end of the year, along with a tax break for hauliers and help with red diesel costs for farmers. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation fell to 2.8% in April, down from 3.3% in March – and the lowest level since March 2025.

But this was largely driven by regulator Ofgem lowering the energy price cap from the start of April by 7%, or £10 a month, for the average household using both electricity and gas, which was pushed down by Government measures to reduce bills.

Inflation is expected to surge back up as the conflict in the Middle East has sent fuel prices soaring and the energy price cap is expected to increase significantly from July when it is next updated. Energy analyst Cornwall Insight’s prediction for Ofgem’s cap from July to September now stands at £1,850 for a typical dual fuel household, an increase of 13% on April’s £1,641 annual cap.

Ministers are wary of a Liz Truss-style universal bailout for all households, warning that unfunded giveaways could trigger an increase in government borrowing costs and inflation, feeding through to higher mortgage rates, which would end up leaving people worse off.

ANDY Burnham has laid bare how to campaign for a seat in Parliament – ignore the truth and show agreement for any passing fad which appeals to voters, nobody then has reason to find fault with you.

A simple formula for success, after all we are fully aware “politics” is the act of deception.

Tories of Makerfield in the interest of the country should decline to field a candidate in the forthcoming by-election, our current prime minister is bad enough, nominating on this occasion a candidate you will help to present to the nation a potential prime minister tens time worse, certainly not a favour nationwide Tories would welcome.

Peter Rickaby,

Moat Way,

Brayton

—

PM praying for a loss in by-election?

IS Keir Starmer kneeling by his bedside like Christopher Robin praying that Andy Burnham loses the Makerfield by-election leaving him a clear run to make a bigger mess of the country?

T J Ryder,

Acomb,

York

—

Why my steer’s for Keir

I FEEL uneasy over ‘wunderkind’ Andy Burnham’s convoluted manoeuvrings to become PM and leader of the Labour Party. Such shenanigans could be interpreted as a case of fanning the flame of his lofty ambitions.

Very ‘un-British’ in my book. In the end, though, I wish him the best of luck as he sups at the ‘poisoned chalice’. I ask myself, ‘If he’s that brilliant, why?’

Are all York and North Yorkshire eyes now on our very own ‘caped crusader’, David Skaith, for a possible trans-Pennine hop? In the immortal yet rueful words of Margaret Thatcher, ‘It’s a funny old world’. After all that I think my steer’s for Keir. I’ve had my fill of charisma.

Derek Reed,

Middlethorpe Drive,

York

—

Russian oil decision is ‘utter madness’

AND so the circus goes on and on. We’re now on track to buy Russian oil from countries who process said oil and sell on. Profits go back to Russia.

What on earth is Starmer thinking of? It’s utter madness.

Decision after decision is going completely wrong and he just cannot see it.

When is it all going to stop?

M Horsman,

Moorland Road,

York

What do you think?

Feel strongly about an issue? Write us a letter. Please write no more than 250 words and you must provide your full name, address and mobile number. Send your views by email to: letters@thepress.co.uk

Write a comment

Join the debate and leave a comment in our comments section below this article – we may use your comments for a follow up article.

Online selling and tutoring, delivery work, dog walking, and content creation are all ways of earning extra money – but what are the i

HMRC has shared which side hustles you must declare for tax purposes, and which you do not need to declare.

If you are an employee in a workplace, you generally don’t need to worry about whether you are paying the right amount of tax, as this gets worked out for you.

But for those who are self-employed, or those who have a full-time job but have another way of making money – known as a side hustle – it can get a little bit more complicated.

Click here to get the biggest stories straight to your inbox in our Daily Newsletter

The general rule of thumb when it comes to declaring extra earnings from any side hustle to HMRC is if you earn less than £1,000 from services or trading, you do not need to declare it.

But for those who have earnt more than £1,000 on top of your main job in the last tax year – which runs from April 6 to April 5 – they will need to declare this to the Government to ensure that they are paying the correct amount of tax.

HMRC’s dedicated side hustle advice page warns: “Made more than £1,000 from your side hustles? Whether you get cash in hand or money paid straight to your bank account, you’ll need to tell HMRC so you can avoid any tax surprises.”

For those who have exceeded the £1,000 limit, you will need to register as a sole trader. Once registered, you declare your profits and losses through the GOV.UK Self Assessment system.

You can check if you need to declare your side-hustle earnings by using this gov.uk questionnaire.

If you earn more than £1,000 from the following side hustles, you MUST declare it to HMRC

• Online selling or reselling
• Content creation
• Freelance work
• Gig economy services
• Domestic services
• Renting equipment

If you earn less than £1,000 from the following side hustles, you do not need to declare it to HMRC

• Selling personal items, such as clearing out your wardrobe
• Casual favours
• Betting and gambling
• Bank switching

Thousands of benefit claimants, including those on Universal Credit, will have their DWP payment dates rescheduled this week due to the May bank holiday falling on Monday, May 25

Thousands of benefit claimants, including those receiving Universal Credit, will see their payments arrive early this week.

This is due to the forthcoming second May bank holiday, falling on Monday, May 25. If your benefit payment is scheduled for that day, you should expect to receive it on Friday, May 22 instead.

The same situation occurred with the first May bank holiday on Monday, May 4, when those due a payment that day received it on Friday, May 1.

It is worth noting, however, that receiving payment early does mean a lengthier gap before your next payment arrives. Funds will be deposited into your usual bank account where benefits are routinely paid.

The amount you are entitled to will remain unchanged, unless your personal circumstances have been altered, reports the Mirror.

The adjustment will affect Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) benefits, along with certain HMRC benefits, including Child Benefit.

When are benefits normally paid?

The frequency of your payments depends on which benefit you are claiming. Universal Credit, for instance, is paid on the same date each month, while Child Benefit is typically paid every four weeks on a Monday or Tuesday.

It is important to note that Universal Credit has now replaced Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits, and Housing Benefit.

The full breakdown of how frequently certain benefits are paid is listed below.

• Attendance Allowance – Usually every four weeks Carer’s Allowance – Weekly in advance or every four weeks
• Child Benefit – Usually every four weeks, or weekly if you’re a single parent or you or your partner get certain benefits
• Disability Living Allowance – Usually every four weeks
• Employment and Support Allowance – Usually every two weeks
• Income Support – Usually every two weeks
• Jobseeker’s Allowance – Usually every two weeks
• Pension Credit – Usually every four weeks
• Personal Independence Payment – Usually every four weeks
• State Pension – Usually every four weeks
• Universal Credit – Every month

What if I don’t get paid?

Should you believe a payment has not come through, ensure you check your bank account thoroughly in the first instance. If the expected payment date has passed and the funds are absent, you should get in touch with the appropriate helpline.

These are unlikely to be available on bank holidays, meaning you will need to wait until the following working day.

Universal Credit:

Call for free: 0800 328 5644

Welsh speaking: 0800 328 1744

Relay UK: 18001 then 0800 328 5644

Child Benefit:

Call for free: 0300 200 3100

Outside UK: +44 161 210 3086

Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income Support, Incapacity Benefit and Employment and Support Allowance:

Call for free: 0800 169 0310

Welsh speaking: 0800 169 0207

Relay UK (if you cannot hear or speak on the phone): 18001 then 0800 169 0310

What is a foid?

How to talk to kids about it

Offering support if your child was called a ‘foid’

Keep an eye out for behaviour changes

An outline planning application has been submitted to build up to 138 homes in a Cambridgeshire village

Plans to build up to 138 homes in Hardwick have faced backlash from people living near the proposed development site. Neighbours have shared concerns that the new homes would cause “irreversible harm” to the village and its community.

The homes are proposed to be built on land south of St Neots Road in Hardwick. Of the 138 homes, 40% are proposed to be made available as affordable housing. The proposals also seek to develop a new site access, internal access roads, parking, drainage, and public open space.

Developer Pigeon said its proposals would aim to create an “inclusive community through the provision of a variety of tenures and dwelling types to suit all stages of life” and a “sustainable movement strategy where walking and cycling opportunities are integrated into the heart of the development”.

The planning statement says: “The proposals provide for a high-quality, landscape design-led, sustainable scheme including the provision of up to 138 new homes, comprising both market and affordable homes, along with public open space, biodiversity enhancements and associated infrastructure.”

The outline planning application has seen local backlash, with more than 15 objections lodged so far. One objector said: “The A428 junctions are already under pressure, and additional traffic will worsen queueing and accident risk. The proposal does not demonstrate that the increase in traffic, altered flow and the effect on junction function have no adverse impact on safety and capacity.”

The objector also highlighted that Hardwick is a rural village with a “distinct character defined by open green spaces, low-density housing, and a strong sense of community”. They added: “The proposed development is overdevelopment, inconsistent with the village’s scale and form, and it erodes the rural setting and landscape character, and does not respect local character or protect the countryside.

“The proposal would fundamentally alter the village’s identity.” They said “the application should be refused” because it would “result in significant and irreversible harm to the village and its community”.

Another concerned resident said that the proposed access road into the new development would create an “increase in vehicular traffic”. They said this would “cause congestion” and “more importantly at the junction of the road joining the main curved road to the road-about”.

A similar concern was raised by another objector. They said that the western roundabouts, which serve as a key access point for Hardwick and nearby villages via St Neots Road, “already experience substantial congestion, particularly during peak commuting hours”.

They said the development would “introduce a significant increase in vehicle movements onto a road network that already appears close to capacity”. They added that local services “already appear to be under considerable pressure” and up to 138 homes could “significantly increase demand on already stretched services without clear evidence that the necessary supporting infrastructure improvements will be delivered”.

Hardwick itself does not have a GP surgery. Residents use nearby surgeries including in Comberton and Bourn.

Harry Styles’ tour team have said that they are reviewing staging at the singer’s world arena tour following complaints that fans were unable to see the pop star during much of his set.

The “Watermelon Sugar” singer kicked off his Together, Together tour in Amsterdam on Saturday (16 May), with the show’s stage featuring a giant square of walkways allowing Styles to move closer to audiences in different parts of the arena.

But following the show, a number of fans – including those who had played for premium tickets – took to social media to complain that the raised bridges in the walkways had prevented them from seeing the main stage.

“I’m sorry but wtf is this??? I’m at the barricade and I can’t even see the main stage anymore????? I want my money back. This is not okay,” one fan wrote on X.

On Wednesday (20 May), official representatives responded to the backlash, saying: “A small area of the staging in specific floor positions appears to have had a restricted sightline.

“Those areas are being reviewed carefully and adjusted where possible in compliance with all safety restrictions.”

The officials said that the layout was meant to encourage a “free-flowing floor experience” in keeping with the dancefloor theme of Styles’s latest album Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally, rather than a fixed viewing angle.

However, many fans of the former One Direction star – who kicks off a 12-show residency in London’s Wembley Arena in June – will join the queue for the concert hours, if not days, early with the sole intention of getting as close to the stage as possible.

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Advertisement

Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.

Try for free

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music

Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.

Advertisement

Try for free

ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.

These were the fans who shared the most disappointment on social media, with one claiming that the “massive” stage meant she “sometimes didn’t see Harry for a whole song”.

“Barricade is not worth it. Do not bother queueing. This was the back of GA (general admission) left and we couldn’t see him for 20+ minutes, I can only imagine how much people at the front missed,” wrote another.

”The bridges are massively obstructing, especially when he spends so much time in the middle. Seats will have the best view without a doubt, then the rear two pits.”

It’s unclear when any changes, if they are made, be made to the staging. Styles has eight more shows to play at Amsterdam’s Johan Cruyff Arena before his first show at Wembley on 12 June. He’ll then travel to São Paulo, Mexico City, New York, Melbourne and Sydney for the remainder of the rout, which wraps in December.

Figures released by Police Scotland under Freedom of Information show that more than 700,000 officer days off have been cancelled in the last six years.

Thousands of frontline cops had their days off cancelled last year as Police Scotland battled to cope with a rising ride of crime and disorder including a violent gangland feud.

Shock figures released by the force show that 120,148 ‘rest days’ were scrubbed last year – compared to 110,842 in 2024 – with the hard pressed officers being ordered back on duty.

The police spent much of last year tackling gangland violence across Scotland linked to a long running feud between the Glasgow based Daniel and Lyons crime families.

Their response codenamed Operation Portaledge has already resulted in more than 60 arrests and a large number of people being sentenced to length jail terms.

There was a sharp rise in the numbers of police officers days off cancelled in March last year after the violence first broke out in Edinburgh and then spread to Glasgow.

In that month 10,457 rest days were scrubbed compared to 7.825 in February.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF) said the routine cancellation of days off is leaving cops at breaking point and a massive backlog of officers waiting for the time back.

SPF General Secretary David Kennedy added:” These figures lay bare the relentless and unsustainable pressure being placed on police officers across Scotland,

“What is particularly concerning is the scale and consistency of the demand. “These cancellations are not isolated to major events or emergencies, they are embedded within the day-to-day running of policing.

“Policing cannot continue to function on the erosion of officers’ welfare. Rest days exist for a reason. They are a critical safeguard for both officer wellbeing and public safety.

“Fatigued officers are not only at risk themselves, but cannot perform at the level the public rightly expects. These figures must serve as a wake-up call.”

Operation Portaledge was launched to investigate a series of machete attacks and firebombings targeting associates and members of the Daniel family.

The feud reignited after underworld figure Ross McGill, who has links to the Lyons family, was allegedly ripped off when a £500,000 cocaine deal was paid for with fake notes.

McGill, a former leader of the Rangers fans group the Union Bears, has blamed a crew member of Edinburgh cocaine baron Mark Richardson, who has links to the Daniel family.

Last years figures, released under Freedom of Information (FOI), show that police officers had their days off cancelled at an average of 2310 a week. In the first two months of this year 15,605 were cancelled.

A total of 400 days off were cancelled last Saturday to police the Celtic fan SPL title celebrations in Glasgow’s Trongate where there was large scale disorder and ten arrests.

Advertisement

Mr Kennedy added;”Our members are committed, professional, and continue to go above and beyond. But policing cannot continue to rely on sacrifice alone.

“Enough is enough – this level of demand is not sustainable, and without meaningful intervention, the long-term resilience of the service is at real risk.”

Thousands of days also off had to be cancelled last July and August for the visits to Scotland of Donald Trump and Vice President Vance.

The same FOI figures show that 704,019 days were scrubbed between January 2020 and the end of February this year.

A quarter of all cancellations were to allow officers to attend court, even though only a small percentage end up giving evidence. The most cancelled days off were in Glasgow with 115,153 since 2020.

Police Scotland’s Deputy Chief Constable Alan Speirs said: “The Chief Constable has been clear that our priority is to strengthen and modernise our frontline to deliver efficient and effective policing.

“Officers and staff work hard to deliver for communities and keep people safe, and our workforce is under pressure from increased threats and a rapidly intensifying operational environment, which is why we have taken steps to ensure we can deploy officers from across the force more flexibly to meet those threats and demands.

“Work is also progressing to reduce the impact policing of events is having on officers and reducing the disruption to their rest days.”

” There is more to be done and Police Scotland will continue to drive improvements in this area.”

Since Police Scotland was formed in 2013, the number of officers has dropped by more than 1000 from 17,496 to around 16,416.

Chief Supt Rob Hay, President of the Association of Scottish Police Superintendents says senior officers at his rank are also having their days off cancelled on a regular basis.

He added: “It is not unusual for Superintendents to be owed 4 weeks’ worth of rest days, one colleagues was owed 10 weeks at one point last year.

“These numbers are symptomatic not only of rising demand but of the impact of falling police numbers across all ranks.”

Inspectors identified that checks of newborn resuscitation equipment were not being consistently recorded, creating a risk that equipment may not be ready for use in emergencies

An inspection of maternity services at Singleton Hospital in Swansea has found improvements, but concerns remain. Healthcare Inspectorate Wales’ latest inspection saw them spend three days in February looking at the quality, safety and experience of care provided to women, babies and families across maternity services. Their inspection was unannounced.

Serious concerns have previously been raised about maternity services at the health board. An independent review into maternity services at Swansea Bay University Health Board was published in July 2025 which contained stark issues and heartbreaking stories from families.

While progress was reported after this latest report, concerns regarding the timeliness of care provided to women on the postnatal ward, as well as the pressures experienced by staff throughout the service, remained. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here

For example, inspectors found checks of newborn resuscitation equipment were not being consistently recorded, creating a risk that equipment may not be ready for use in emergencies. They also heard from staff of “occasional” difficulties, during busy periods, in sourcing essential equipment such as heart rate monitoring equipment for babies, blood pressure monitors and thermometers.

Following on from previous inspections in 2023 and 2024, the inspectors found more effective multidisciplinary working, improved medical handovers, increased leadership stability and clearer systems to look at concerns.

Feedback from women and families was largely positive they found with most women telling inspectors they were treated with dignity and respect, felt listened to, and were involved in decisions about their care.

There was stronger senior oversight and accountability since previous inspections, and progress was also seen in medical handovers, notably through the use of daily safety huddles to share information and manage risks.

Infection prevention and control arrangements, medicines management and safeguarding processes were found to be well established, with clear systems to support safe care.

Despite these improvements, inspectors have listed things that need further action. Staff highlighted ongoing pressures, described feeling overworked, and raised concerns about training and professional development.

Some women were critical of restricted visiting hours and limited staff availability meant their needs took longer to be seen to, which impacts their dignity. Staff feedback echoed patient concerns.

Inspectors also found that, while senior oversight and accountability had improved, further strengthening is required.

HIW has continued to work closely with the health board since the inspection and has received a comprehensive improvement plan, which sets out how the issues identified will be addressed. HIW will monitor progress to seek assurance that improvements are implemented and sustained.

Alun Jones, Chief Executive of Healthcare Inspectorate Wales, said: “This inspection shows that continued progress is beginning to make a difference at Singleton Hospital, with clear improvements in leadership, risk identification and management, and the quality of care women experience.

“While progress is evident, maintaining this momentum must remain a clear priority for the health board to ensure services are consistently safe, effective and deliver a positive experience for women and families.

“We expect the health board to build on the progress made and deliver tangible, measurable improvements for women, babies and families, and we will continue to monitor this closely.”

The health board was offered a chance to comment.