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Select committee: Health and Social Care Committee

Government Response to the Committee's Fifth Report

Published 22 April 2026

Health and Social Care Committee The First 1000 Days: a renewed focus Report on parliament.uk ↗

At a glance

The government's response

This document responds to 5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed focus.

This is the government's response, published 22 April 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".

Read the government's response ↗ Report an error

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