Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps her Department has taken to provide education and training to those who will be delivering the Healthy Babies programme, including on infant feeding.

The Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies guidance sets expectations for local authorities to develop and maintain a confident and skilled workforce, supported through ongoing professional development and multi-agency learning. For infant feeding specifically, local systems are expected to take a strategic, collaborative approach to developing a skilled and knowledgeable infant feeding workforce, with appropriate and accredited training at a range of levels, including trained peer supporters.

National support includes a freely available e-learning package for the early years and health workforce on the links between breastfeeding and perinatal mental health, providing tools and guidance to support practical, person-centred care.