Giving Every Baby the Best Start in Life

Maggie Throup Excerpts

Tuesday 9th November 2021 Commons Chamber

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care (Maggie Throup)]

I thank the hon. Member for Richmond Park (Sarah Olney), my right hon. Friend the Member for South Northamptonshire (Dame Andrea Leadsom) and the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) for securing this important debate. I also thank all hon. Members for their important contributions; it has been a very worthwhile, informative and forward-looking debate.

Ensuring that every baby gets the best start in life is of central importance to the Government. The critical 1,001 days of a child’s life lay the building blocks for lifelong emotional and physical health. By investing in supporting the youngest members of our society and the families who care for them, the Government will deliver on their ambition of levelling up health outcomes across the country.

The health and wellbeing of parents and carers is important for the healthy development of their babies. Approximately one in five mums and one in 10 dads experience mental health problems during the 1,001 critical days of their baby’s life. Poor mental health can impact on their parents’ ability to bond with their baby and meet the baby’s emotional needs. Later development is heavily influenced by the loving attachment that babies have to their parents or carers, and there is a wealth of evidence that poor parental mental health can lead to worse outcomes for young children.

It is vital that parents and carers have access to the help and support that they need to give their baby the very best start in life. The Government’s vision is for every parent and carer to have access to high-quality universal services in their local areas. That is set out in, “The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days”, published by the Early Years Healthy Development Review in March. I thank my right hon. Friend the Member for South Northamptonshire for that inspirational work. Thanks to her dedication, the Government are delivering on six priority action areas that will realise that vision.

First, we will ensure that all parents and carers have access to clear information about the Start for Life offer and family services in their area that they can access virtually and physically. Secondly, we are championing family hubs and working with local authorities to make them a place where families can access universal Start for Life services.

Thirdly, we are designing digital, virtual and telephone services around the needs of families with babies, including digitising the red book. Fourthly, we are developing a modern, skilled workforce to meet the changing needs of families with babies. We are doing that by looking at new ways to support, train and retain the skilled professionals that we need.

Fifthly, we are working across the system to ensure that local services are high quality, considering how improved data can enhance the evaluation of outcomes and how inspection and feedback from parents and carers can drive excellence. Finally, we are working with local areas to encourage them to nominate a leader with responsibility for Start for Life services and ensuring that Start for Life is at the heart of policy making at a national level.

Alongside the Early Years Healthy Development Review, the Government are implementing a wide range of policies to improve child health. That includes the most ambitious child obesity plan in the world, the transformation of children’s mental health and maternity services and a world-leading immunisation programme.

Investing in the 1,001 critical days is the most important long-term investment that we can make. Failure to invest in that critical period comes at a great social and economic cost. Adverse experiences at the start of life are linked to negative outcomes later in life, as a number of hon. Members have mentioned. It is estimated that late intervention amounts to a cost of £17 billion a year in England and Wales. Investing in prevention and early intervention is a much better use of taxpayer money. That is why the Budget announced a £500 million investment package to transform support for babies and families.

The Government will invest more than £80 million in expanding the network of family hubs, improving access to a wide range of integrated support services for families with babies and children. A further £10 million will support local authorities to publish clear Start for Life offers, helping parents and carers to understand the services available to them locally, while £100 million will be invested in rolling out bespoke parent and infant mental health support, helping to nurture parent and infant relationships and improving access to support for new and expectant parents.

There will be £50 million available to local authorities to establish multi-component breastfeeding support services in line with local needs, ensuring that parents receive the help that they need where and when they need it. There will be £50 million to fund evidence-based parenting programmes, which will support parents and carers to have positive interactions with their children. Seventy-five upper-tier local authorities in England will benefit from this funding. The evidence and learning from this investment will help to improve services across England where they are most needed.

An additional £10 million will be available to trial and evaluate innovative workforce models in a small number of local authorities. This will enable local authorities to bring together and train staff under the clinical supervision of health visitors to provide babies and families with the high-quality, timely support that they need. It will also support future workforce reform.

[Alison Thewliss]

Will the Minister give way?

[Maggie Throup]

I am short of time, so I will continue.

Some 300,000 of the most vulnerable families will be supported with an extra £200 million boost to the Government’s supporting families programme, which helps families through complex issues that could lead to family breakdown. In addition to the £500 million investment to transform support for families, the Government will provide more than £2 million per year to continue the holiday activities and food programme, providing healthy food and enriched activities for disadvantaged children in England and delivering our flexible childcare fund commitments.

Before I draw my remarks to a close, I would like to address some issues that have been raised this afternoon. The hon. Member for Richmond Park raised the issue of health visitors. As I have outlined, £10 million has been allocated to trial and evaluate new workforce models. The specific number of health visitors and case- loads is a locally determined decision based on local health needs, so the number and ratio of health visitors support staff will vary. She also raised perinatal mental health, which has been recognised in the spending review with £100 million allocated to rolling out bespoke parent-infant mental health support.

My right hon. Friend the Member for South Northamptonshire rightly stated that babies’ needs should always be at the heart of our work. She also highlighted some new ways of working that have developed as a result of the pandemic, from Camden’s Bump to Baby programme to Parent Talk, and the benefits that physical and virtual support can offer in reaching out to even more families.

My hon. Friend the Member for Penistone and Stocksbridge (Miriam Cates) said that we are building back better for babies. She was quite right. I welcome her support for family hubs and her recognition that they will provide support and services from conception to the age of 19 and to parents and carers.

The hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North also asked about family hubs. In the Budget, as I said, the Government announced a further £82 million to create a network of family hubs. Each of the 75 selected local authorities will receive transformational funding to support the change process of moving to a family hub model.

My hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton) brought a great deal of experience to the debate, as did the hon. Member for Washington and Sunderland West (Mrs Hodgson) and my hon. Friend the Member for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner (David Simmonds). The hon. Member for Pontypridd (Alex Davies-Jones) raised the important issue of breastfeeding. I am delighted that the Chancellor has announced £50 million to establish multi-component breastfeeding support services in line with local needs.

[Alex Davies-Jones]

Will the Minister give way?

[Maggie Throup]

I must finish; I am sorry.

In conclusion, we will continue to work across the whole Start for Life system to improve health and development outcomes for our youngest citizens. We must do everything in our power to support all families to give their baby the very best start in life.