Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what assessment his Department has made of the benefits to the health and well-being of children of the early identification of cerebral palsy.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published on 25 January 2017 the clinical guideline Cerebral palsy in under 25s: assessment and management NICE guideline (NG62).

This provides recommendations for clinicians on the importance of enhanced clinical and developmental follow-up for children up to two years of age who are at increased risk of developing cerebral palsy, and the need for referral for an urgent assessment following the early recognition of possible signs of cerebral palsy.