Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 10
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed focus
Published 22 Jan 2026
Addressed to Department of Health and Social Care
Health and Social Care Committee The First 1000 Days: a renewed focus All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
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)
From: Health and Social Care Committee, 5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed focus (HC 802), 22 January 2026
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 22 April 2026 (deadline 22 March 2026).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government welcomes the committee's report and shares its aims, but declines to commit to specific health visitor numbers or fixed workforce targets, while setting out existing programmes and some further actions.
- On family hubs, the government says that as of April 2026 Best Start Family Hubs will be in every local authority area in England, with up to 1,000 hubs and 2,000 network sites "by the end of 2028".
- On recruiting 1,000 extra health visitors, it states: "We cannot commit to a specific number at this stage". It intends to develop a safe staffing tool "over the next few years".
- On workforce targets, it says it "would not be responsible to attempt to fix precise workforce numbers a decade into the future", but the 10 Year Workforce Plan will set out a phased roadmap, due in spring 2026.
- On vaccinations, it notes the 95% standard "remains an established NHS target". It is evaluating 12 health visitor pathfinder sites for 12 months before any wider roll-out, and says it would want to understand impact and benefits "before committing to roll out more widely".