Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he has taken to work with relevant authorities to support new parents in (a) Romford constituency and (b) England.

In London, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), within the Department, and NHS England’s London regional teams work together to champion and embed a focus on giving every child the best start in life, providing support to National Health Service organisations, local government, and wider partners to deliver joined up services for babies and families. This includes focused work on infant feeding, perinatal mental health, addressing inequalities in maternity care and outcomes, and developing the health visiting workforce in London.

In Havering, the local authority has developed an online family services hub to help new parents in Romford find and access locally available services and support, and an online gateway for early years health and other professionals to access, enabling them to better advise, support, and refer new parents into the local offer.

A £126 million funding boost in 2025/26 will help set up every child for the best start in life by strengthening and joining up family services and improving support through pregnancy and early childhood. This will fund a network of family hubs with Start for Life services, which support the period from conception to the age of two years old, in 75 local authorities in England with high levels of deprivation.