Plans to limit IVF cycles in South Yorkshire will create ‘health postcode lottery’, council argues
South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board is planning to reduce the number of cycles available on the NHS in the region to one.
Last updated 22nd Sep 2025
The City of Doncaster Council has passed a motion criticising proposals from local NHS decision-makers to reduce the number of IVF cycles patients are entitled to.
Councillor Gemma Cobby told the council chamber the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB) was planning to reduce the number of cycles available on the NHS in the region to one.
“One cycle just isn’t enough,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) following the meeting.
The proposal will “limit your chances of getting pregnant” if approved, she said.
Cllr Cobby told her fellow councillors the decision was being taken by the ICB to save money. She put forward a motion, which was passed with near unanimous support, which required the local director of public health to write to the ICB to oppose the decision.
Cobby said: “I’m an age now where I could have children and I’m worried for myself and other women in the future.
“Women’s services are often overlooked. It can take a long time for lots of women’s issues to be taken seriously. People need that extra support.”
The motion was supported across the council chamber, but members of all parties.
Cllr Nicola Brown, Reform UK councillor for Adwick and Carcroft ward, told the chamber: “Being a mother and grandmother is the best gift in the world and I fully support this motion in the hopes it helps someone.”
She was echoed by contributions from Reform’s Cllr Isaiah-John Reasbeck and the Labour Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones.
Cllr Reasbeck, the council’s youngest member, told the chamber he had recently become a father for the first time and “couldn’t recommend it enough”. For that reason, he said he would be supporting Cllr Cobby’s motion.
Mayor Jones said: “I cannot begin to imagine the heartache that some couples endure simply to start a family through having to go through IVF.
“If these proposals are implemented by the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board then it would not be fair for residents of South Yorkshire as it would put us at a disadvantage to neighbouring counties.”
The councillors in attendance supported the motion near unanimously. 50 votes were cast in support, with just the one member abstaining.
Dr David Crichton, Chief Medical Officer at NHS South Yorkshire, said: “We welcome views and feedback on the future of NHS-funded IVF services in south Yorkshire as part of our public engagement exercise which ends on 17 October 2025. We know how important IVF can be to those experiencing fertility issues.
“The ICB is having to consider difficult choices in the current financial climate to ensure that NHS services meet the most urgent needs of our population. That’s why we’re asking for your views before making any decisions about the future of IVF funding in our region.
“All feedback gathered during the engagement period will help inform a decision by the ICB’s board, which will meet at the start of November.”