On 17 January 2023 the UK Parliament held a debate on sudden, unexplained deaths in childhood (SUDC) – the first time this issue has ever been formally discussed in Westminster.
The historic meeting, which was led by The Rt Hon Kwasi Kwarteng, followed the publication of the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) thematic report on Sudden and Unexpected Deaths in Infancy and Childhood the previous month.
It was this report that gave the charity SUDC UK, for the first time, a body of evidence to show not just how this phenomenon affects infants, but also older children. Armed with this evidence, SUDC UK CEO Nikki Speed and bereaved parents from around the country took action to persuade members of the house to meet and discuss how this issue affects people across the UK.
During the debate, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care Neil O’Brien OBE thanked the NCMD on behalf of the Government. He said: “In December, the NCMD published its report into sudden and unexpected deaths in infancy and childhood. The Government are grateful to the NCMD for its important research, which is a significant step forward.”
You can watch a recording of the debate here (from timestamp 16:30).