1.  Unpublished Research.

  The RCM commissioned the Economic and Social Research Council Centre for Business Research (ESRC) at Cambridge University to undertake research examining possible links between midwives' employment conditions, the quality of maternity services and the effect on midwives' well-being and working lives.

  The ESRC researchers have now provided the RCM with details of their findings, and it is our intention to disseminate these findings to a wider audience. With this in mind we will shortly be meeting with the research team with a view to publishing the findings.

  2.  In response to the request for this submission the RCM carried out a survey of 60 Heads of Midwifery—we sought information from them in three areas:

—  How their establishments are currently set;

—  What changes they believe should be made to provide a more satisfactory approach to establishment setting; and

—  Their general views on the current recruitment and retention difficulties facing the midwifery profession.