Recommendations & Conclusions
26 items
1
Conclusion
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Not Addressed
We welcome the additional funding that the Government has announced for Family Hubs and its plans to open a Hub in every local authority. This is a positive step in increasing the support available to families during the critical first years of a child’s life. However, the funding available for …
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We welcome the additional funding that the Government has announced for Family Hubs and its plans to open a Hub in every local authority. This is a positive step in increasing the support available to families during the critical first years of a child’s life. However, the funding available for these programmes is still significantly below the level of Sure Start, while Hubs are being expected to cater to a much broader age range of children and young people. (Conclusion, Paragraph 18)
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Government response AI summary
The government's response outlines that guidance has been published defining Best Start Family Hubs, their location and branding, and how local plans should be developed, without directly addressing the Committee's concerns about funding levels being below Sure Start or the broader age range of children …
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Department of Health and Social Care
2
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Accepted in Part
We call on the Government to set out plans to further expand the network of Family Hubs to provide access to a Hub every community. This plan must be supported by sustained and ringfenced funding. Previous research on the benefits of the Sure Start Programme clearly set out the long-term …
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We call on the Government to set out plans to further expand the network of Family Hubs to provide access to a Hub every community. This plan must be supported by sustained and ringfenced funding. Previous research on the benefits of the Sure Start Programme clearly set out the long-term benefits and financial returns of such an investment and would directly support this Government’s ambition to give every child the best start in life. We also ask the Government to set out when it will confirm the funding arrangements for new areas and when it plans to issue guidance to those areas on services for children between the ages of 0 and 2. (Recommendation, Paragraph 19)
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Government response AI summary
The government commits over £200 million over three years to strengthen the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) offer in Best Start Family Hubs and sets an ambition for 70% of hubs to be located in the 30% most deprived areas. However, it does not …
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Department of Health and Social Care
3
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Deferred
Successive governments have rightly focused on targeting Family Hubs and other early year interventions on those with the greatest need. We welcome the announcement that Hubs will have staff specifically trained to support the parents of children with additional needs navigate the service. We recommend that Government consider creating similar …
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Successive governments have rightly focused on targeting Family Hubs and other early year interventions on those with the greatest need. We welcome the announcement that Hubs will have staff specifically trained to support the parents of children with additional needs navigate the service. We recommend that Government consider creating similar roles to support the parents of children from other disadvantaged groups. (Recommendation, Paragraph 22)
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the importance of supporting all families and highlights existing funding for family-facing practitioners in Family Hubs for children with additional needs. It states that local authorities are expected to develop outreach strategies for other underserved groups and that the government will continue …
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Department of Health and Social Care
4
Conclusion
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Not Addressed
Perinatal mental health is as important as physical health, with poor mental health outcomes having potentially significant long-term consequences for both the mother and child. We were struck by how frequently mental health concerns were raised in evidence. Given that the Government’s 54 new investment is available only to the …
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Perinatal mental health is as important as physical health, with poor mental health outcomes having potentially significant long-term consequences for both the mother and child. We were struck by how frequently mental health concerns were raised in evidence. Given that the Government’s 54 new investment is available only to the original 75 local authority areas this will struggle to address the need identified by witnesses. (Conclusion, Paragraph 32)
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Government response AI summary
The government's response details the universal offer of Best Start Family Hubs, including support for socio-emotional and language development, co-location of health professionals, and community outreach. However, it does not address the committee's specific concern about the limited scope of the £54m investment for perinatal …
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Department of Health and Social Care
5
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Deferred
The Government should set out what actions it will take to improve access to perinatal mental health care within Family Hubs, supported by specific targets to improve access for women from ethnic minority backgrounds who have disproportionately poorer mental health outcomes. (Recommendation, Paragraph 33)
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The Government should set out what actions it will take to improve access to perinatal mental health care within Family Hubs, supported by specific targets to improve access for women from ethnic minority backgrounds who have disproportionately poorer mental health outcomes. (Recommendation, Paragraph 33)
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Government response AI summary
The government defers specific actions and targets for improving access to perinatal mental health care within Family Hubs to forthcoming long-term strategies, including the 10 Year Workforce Plan and a professional strategy for nursing and midwifery due in spring 2026. It explicitly states it cannot …
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Department of Health and Social Care
6
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Not Addressed
We recommend that the Department for Education revise its guidance on early language and home learning environment funding to allow it to be used to provide support that covers the 0–2-year period, to allow providers the maximum flexibility in how they deploy this funding. (Recommendation, Paragraph 39)
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We recommend that the Department for Education revise its guidance on early language and home learning environment funding to allow it to be used to provide support that covers the 0–2-year period, to allow providers the maximum flexibility in how they deploy this funding. (Recommendation, Paragraph 39)
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Government response AI summary
The government's response discusses health visiting services and local authority performance improvement, including peer reviews and improvement support, which does not address the recommendation to revise Department for Education guidance on early language and home learning environment funding for 0-2 year olds.
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Department of Health and Social Care
7
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Acknowledged
We welcome the Government’s intention for Neighbourhood Health Services and Neighbourhood Health Centres to work in partnership with Family Hubs. Given that both models aim to bring together health and broader support services in a “one stop shop”, it will be important that families know where to go to access …
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We welcome the Government’s intention for Neighbourhood Health Services and Neighbourhood Health Centres to work in partnership with Family Hubs. Given that both models aim to bring together health and broader support services in a “one stop shop”, it will be important that families know where to go to access support and that partner organisations are not stretched too thin attempting to provide a presence in multiple locations. We invite the Government to provide further information on how it will manage potential overlap between Neighbourhood Health Centres and Family Hubs in its response to this report. (Conclusion, Paragraph 44) Health visiting
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Government response AI summary
The government stated it would consider how to improve services as part of the 10 Year Health Plan, but did not provide specific information on how it will manage the potential overlap between Neighbourhood Health Centres and Family Hubs as requested.
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Department of Health and Social Care
8
Conclusion
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Acknowledged
The Government will fail to deliver on its ambition to give every child the best start in life unless it takes urgent action to rebuild the health visitor workforce, which has been decimated over the last 10 years. (Conclusion, Paragraph 55)
Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the concern about the health visitor workforce and explains that the 10-Year Workforce Plan, due in spring 2026, will address all relevant staff groups, including health visitors, through a clear roadmap covering recruitment, training, and retention. It also states that overall workforce …
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Department of Health and Social Care
9
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Accepted in Part
The Government must create a specific plan to rebuild the health visitor workforce in its forthcoming NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. This plan must be informed by safe staffing tools to ensure that health visitors have a manageable workload. As an initial step, we call on the Government to immediately …
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The Government must create a specific plan to rebuild the health visitor workforce in its forthcoming NHS Long Term Workforce Plan. This plan must be informed by safe staffing tools to ensure that health visitors have a manageable workload. As an initial step, we call on the Government to immediately commit to recruiting at least another 1000 health visitors. (Recommendation, Paragraph 56)
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Government response AI summary
The government confirmed the 10 Year Workforce Plan will include a phased delivery roadmap for health visiting services to address workforce pressures. However, they rejected committing to recruiting a specific number of new health visitors, stating it would not be responsible to fix precise workforce …
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Department of Health and Social Care
10
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Accepted
We are also highly concerned about the variation in performance amongst local authorities in delivering health visits. While it is clear that the system as a whole needs additional resourcing, it is unacceptable that some local authorities managed 100% uptake while others were as low as 4%. We call 55 …
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We are also highly concerned about the variation in performance amongst local authorities in delivering health visits. While it is clear that the system as a whole needs additional resourcing, it is unacceptable that some local authorities managed 100% uptake while others were as low as 4%. We call 55 on the Government to set out what action it will take to hold to account poorly performing local authorities and improve their delivery of health visits. (Recommendation, Paragraph 57)
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Government response AI summary
The government highlights improved health visitor service delivery metrics showing less variation and states it is already carrying out rapid performance improvement activity with local authorities. It also details ongoing measures, including assurance of grants, mandating external peer reviews every five years with accompanying improvement …
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Department of Health and Social Care
11
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Not Addressed
The Government’s ambitions for the number of health visits are woefully inadequate. Children in England receive fewer mandated health visits than children in any other part of the UK. While the Government’s immediate priority must be supporting and growing the workforce to deliver the current programme of five visits, in …
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The Government’s ambitions for the number of health visits are woefully inadequate. Children in England receive fewer mandated health visits than children in any other part of the UK. While the Government’s immediate priority must be supporting and growing the workforce to deliver the current programme of five visits, in the longer term the Government should aim to deliver a service comparable to the rest of the UK. (Conclusion, Paragraph 60)
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Government response AI summary
The government's response discusses improving childhood vaccination rates, which does not address the recommendation to increase the number of health visits to a level comparable to other parts of the UK.
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Department of Health and Social Care
12
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Rejected
We recommend that the Government commit to increasing the number of mandatory health visitor contacts for children in England from five to six. To help it deliver this it should look at the approach that the devolved administrations have taken, where families can expect between 6 and 11 contacts with …
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We recommend that the Government commit to increasing the number of mandatory health visitor contacts for children in England from five to six. To help it deliver this it should look at the approach that the devolved administrations have taken, where families can expect between 6 and 11 contacts with a health visitor, and set out the lessons that it can learn from their approach in its response to our report. (Recommendation, Paragraph 61) Workforce
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Government response AI summary
The government rejects increasing the number of mandatory health visitor contacts, defending the existing five statutory reviews as occurring at crucial developmental points. It states that three additional contacts are recommended where possible, and that further improvements will be considered as part of the 10 …
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Department of Health and Social Care
13
Conclusion
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Not Addressed
Throughout this inquiry we heard that the children’s health workforce is being stretched to breaking point. There are significant shortages across multiple disciplines which prevent professionals from delivering the care young children and their families need and that, in some cases, significantly impacts on patient safety (Conclusion, Paragraph 76)
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Throughout this inquiry we heard that the children’s health workforce is being stretched to breaking point. There are significant shortages across multiple disciplines which prevent professionals from delivering the care young children and their families need and that, in some cases, significantly impacts on patient safety (Conclusion, Paragraph 76)
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Government response AI summary
The government's response discusses the publication of demographic data within the waiting list minimum data set (WLMDS) and future data granularity, which does not address the committee's conclusion about the children's health workforce being stretched and experiencing significant shortages.
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Department of Health and Social Care
14
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Accepted in Part
The Government must take the opportunity presented by the forthcoming NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a sustainable and well-resourced children’s health workforce. While we understand the Government’s desire for the workforce plan to go beyond numbers, a plan that does not set out a clear, achievable and funded …
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The Government must take the opportunity presented by the forthcoming NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan to create a sustainable and well-resourced children’s health workforce. While we understand the Government’s desire for the workforce plan to go beyond numbers, a plan that does not set out a clear, achievable and funded road map for addressing staff shortages would completely lack credibility. We recommend that the workforce plan contains specific targets for recruitment to all disciplines that deliver care in the first 1000 days that, as a minimum, ensure that safe staffing ratios are delivered in all settings. (Recommendation, Paragraph 77)
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Government response AI summary
The government states the 10-Year Workforce Plan will provide a sustainable approach with a phased delivery roadmap for relevant staff groups, including actions across recruitment, training, and retention. However, it rejects setting precise workforce numbers or specific recruitment targets a decade into the future, deeming …
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Department of Health and Social Care
15
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Not Addressed
Many professions which play a key role in delivering children’s health care are not entirely or primarily employed by the NHS. We recommend the Government sets out how it plans to support those professions in non- NHS settings, particularly allied health professionals and early years practitioners, in a child’s health …
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Many professions which play a key role in delivering children’s health care are not entirely or primarily employed by the NHS. We recommend the Government sets out how it plans to support those professions in non- NHS settings, particularly allied health professionals and early years practitioners, in a child’s health workforce strategy that should accompany the NHS 10 Year Workforce Plan. We also recommend that the Government 56 review its current guidance on multidisciplinary teams to ensure that due prominence is given to the role that allied health professional can play in such teams. (Recommendation, Paragraph 78) Vaccinations
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Government response AI summary
The government's response focuses on a shared outcomes framework and cross-departmental working for early years, but does not address the recommendation to set out a plan for supporting non-NHS health professions or reviewing guidance on multidisciplinary teams.
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Department of Health and Social Care
16
Conclusion
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Accepted
The continuing decline in childhood vaccination levels since 2012 is a national disgrace; children should not be dying of entirely preventable diseases. The continued failure to effectively grapple with this is a significant and ongoing public health crisis and will lead to increased costs for the health service in the …
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The continuing decline in childhood vaccination levels since 2012 is a national disgrace; children should not be dying of entirely preventable diseases. The continued failure to effectively grapple with this is a significant and ongoing public health crisis and will lead to increased costs for the health service in the longer term. (Conclusion, Paragraph 86)
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledged the vital importance of vaccinations and the need to improve uptake, outlining a comprehensive plan including a national communication campaign, exploring new delivery methods, improving school consent, and providing NHS App access to vaccination records by 2026-27.
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Department of Health and Social Care
17
Conclusion
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Rejected
We are disappointed that the Government has dropped the 95% vaccination coverage target from NHS planning guidance and were unconvinced by the Minister’s arguments that it remained an “expectation” despite its removal. While we agree with the Government’s desire for the NHS to have a smaller number of priorities, we …
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We are disappointed that the Government has dropped the 95% vaccination coverage target from NHS planning guidance and were unconvinced by the Minister’s arguments that it remained an “expectation” despite its removal. While we agree with the Government’s desire for the NHS to have a smaller number of priorities, we believe that vaccination coverage must absolutely be one of those priorities. (Conclusion, Paragraph 87)
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Government response AI summary
The government rejected the committee's premise by asserting that the 95% vaccination coverage target has not been dropped but remains an established NHS target, as evidenced in the NHS public health functions agreement 2025-26 and is included in planning guidance.
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Department of Health and Social Care
18
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Accepted
We recommend that the Government immediately reinstate the 95% vaccination coverage target in NHS planning guidance for all vaccinations, including those given during the first 1000 days to mothers and children. We also call on the Government to commit to hitting this target no later than the end of this …
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We recommend that the Government immediately reinstate the 95% vaccination coverage target in NHS planning guidance for all vaccinations, including those given during the first 1000 days to mothers and children. We also call on the Government to commit to hitting this target no later than the end of this Parliament. (Recommendation, Paragraph 88)
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Government response AI summary
The government states that the 95% vaccination coverage target remains an established NHS target for a variety of childhood vaccinations, as included in the 2025-2026 public health functions agreement and planning guidance. It does not explicitly commit to hitting the target by the end of …
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Department of Health and Social Care
19
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Accepted
Despite the measures contained in the Government’s vaccination strategy, vaccination rates are continuing to fall and the strategy is failing to deliver the improved coverage that is so desperately needed. The Government should brand the currently strategy a failure and develop a new plan with a specific focus on improving …
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Despite the measures contained in the Government’s vaccination strategy, vaccination rates are continuing to fall and the strategy is failing to deliver the improved coverage that is so desperately needed. The Government should brand the currently strategy a failure and develop a new plan with a specific focus on improving vaccination uptake in early years settings. As part of this new strategy, we recommend that the Department consider having a named individual in each ICB who is responsible for co-ordinating the vaccine offer across ICB services. (Recommendation, Paragraph 97)
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Government response AI summary
The government defends its current NHS vaccination strategy and details ongoing commitments from the 10 Year Health Plan to improve uptake, rather than branding it a failure or developing a new plan. It notes that named executive directors for vaccination are already in place in …
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Department of Health and Social Care
20
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Rejected
The plan for delivering vaccination by health visitors has real potential to help the Government achieve the 95% coverage vaccine target. We recommend the Government explore ways to accelerate the pilot programme and to report back on its findings within 6 months. (Recommendation, Paragraph 101) 57 Integration between services
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The plan for delivering vaccination by health visitors has real potential to help the Government achieve the 95% coverage vaccine target. We recommend the Government explore ways to accelerate the pilot programme and to report back on its findings within 6 months. (Recommendation, Paragraph 101) 57 Integration between services
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Government response AI summary
The government rejected accelerating the pilot programme or reporting findings within 6 months, stating they are conducting a 12-month evaluation of 12 pathfinder sites to gather robust evidence on operating models, cost implications, and support needs before wider rollout.
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Department of Health and Social Care
21
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Accepted
The introduction of a Single Unique Identifier has the potential to significantly simplify data sharing across the early years landscape and we hope that currently planned pilots proceed smoothly and at pace. We ask that the Government commit to providing regular update on the progress of the pilots. (Conclusion, Paragraph …
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The introduction of a Single Unique Identifier has the potential to significantly simplify data sharing across the early years landscape and we hope that currently planned pilots proceed smoothly and at pace. We ask that the Government commit to providing regular update on the progress of the pilots. (Conclusion, Paragraph 111)
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Government response AI summary
The government states that DfE, DHSC, and NHS England are jointly overseeing single unique identifier pilots, with two ongoing and a third planned for 2026, and commits to providing biannual updates on their progress.
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Department of Health and Social Care
22
Conclusion
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Acknowledged
The Government does not have access the data it needs on children’s health outcomes during the first 1000 days. Without this data it will struggle to deliver meaningful improvements or implement a shared outcomes framework. (Conclusion, Paragraph 116)
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The Government does not have access the data it needs on children’s health outcomes during the first 1000 days. Without this data it will struggle to deliver meaningful improvements or implement a shared outcomes framework. (Conclusion, Paragraph 116)
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the need for improved data granularity and states that work is underway to transition to record-level data reporting for community health services, which will eventually include demographic data. However, it notes there are currently no plans for further national disaggregation of waiting …
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Department of Health and Social Care
23
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Accepted in Part
We recommend that the Government work with all NHS and early-years settings to produce plans for greater disaggregated data concerning service delivery and outcomes for children. This should include data broken down by age group, as well as ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status, access to services, and other categories that will …
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We recommend that the Government work with all NHS and early-years settings to produce plans for greater disaggregated data concerning service delivery and outcomes for children. This should include data broken down by age group, as well as ethnicity, disability, socioeconomic status, access to services, and other categories that will allow for more targeted interventions and specified outcome planning. As a minimum, we call for the Government to introduce separate reports on waiting times for children under the age of two, as a first step to minimising delay in accessing services at this critical stage in a child’s development. (Recommendation, Paragraph 117)
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Government response AI summary
The government stated work is underway to collect record-level demographic data for community services. However, they rejected publishing separate national reports on waiting times for children under two, though the data will be extractable, and noted no current plans for further national disaggregation of WLMDS …
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Department of Health and Social Care
24
Conclusion
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Acknowledged
Throughout this inquiry we heard that concerns about the legislation around data sharing was acting as a barrier to partners working effectively together. While some local areas have developed their own systems to support effective data sharing, stakeholders were clear they needed greater central support. (Conclusion, Paragraph 123)
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Throughout this inquiry we heard that concerns about the legislation around data sharing was acting as a barrier to partners working effectively together. While some local areas have developed their own systems to support effective data sharing, stakeholders were clear they needed greater central support. (Conclusion, Paragraph 123)
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges concerns regarding data sharing barriers by outlining existing information governance guidance from NHS England and detailing planned central support initiatives. These include developing a model data-sharing agreement for safeguarding data, piloting IG surgeries for professionals, and making changes to the Control of …
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Department of Health and Social Care
25
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Accepted
We recommend that the Department of Health and Social Care work with Integrated Care Systems to simplify data sharing guidance to improve data sharing between providers. (Recommendation, Paragraph 124)
Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation, outlining several initiatives to simplify data sharing, including developing a model data-sharing agreement for safeguarding data, piloting IG surgeries, and making changes to the COPI Regulations to facilitate data sharing for operational purposes.
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Department of Health and Social Care
26
Recommendation
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed…
Acknowledged
The absence of a shared outcomes framework undermines accountability and hinders strategic planning across local systems. We welcome the Government’s plans to produce a shared outcomes framework. We recommend that the final framework be supported by an implementation plan that sets out how the Government will use the introduction of …
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The absence of a shared outcomes framework undermines accountability and hinders strategic planning across local systems. We welcome the Government’s plans to produce a shared outcomes framework. We recommend that the final framework be supported by an implementation plan that sets out how the Government will use the introduction of the framework to drive improved integration across the early years landscape. The Government should set out clearly who holds ministerial responsibility for the shared outcomes framework in both the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Education and what further steps they will take to promote cross-departmental working. (Recommendation, Paragraph 135) 58
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Government response AI summary
The government welcomed the committee's recognition and noted the recommendation regarding implementation and accountability. They referenced the existing Local Outcomes Framework (LOF) but did not commit to an implementation plan for the final framework or clearly set out ministerial responsibilities for it.
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Department of Health and Social Care