Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the innovative health visiting workforce pilots announced in the Spending Review 2021 will test the value of specialist perinatal or infant mental health health visitors within health visiting services.

We are investing in developing a diverse and highly skilled workforce by trialing and evaluating innovative workforce models. Funding will be available to five local authorities to establish teams with a range of skills under the clinical leadership of health visitors. These new roles within teams will be provided with specialist training where specific needs have been identified, such as perinatal mental health needs. The investment in trialing, evaluating and testing the value of different approaches will identify best practice models and ensure families receive the support they need.