Recommendations & Conclusions
13 items
2
Recommendation
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
Support for new families is concentrated in the early months of a child’s life, but for many families this crucial time fell wholly within the extended period of restrictions. Ensuring new parents can now urgently access comprehensive support—including catching up on support they have missed out on since the start …
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Support for new families is concentrated in the early months of a child’s life, but for many families this crucial time fell wholly within the extended period of restrictions. Ensuring new parents can now urgently access comprehensive support—including catching up on support they have missed out on since the start of the pandemic— must be a priority for the Government.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepted the need for urgent comprehensive support by announcing 26 new integrated maternity hubs, expanding specialist perinatal mental health services, ensuring GP postnatal checks, increasing Mother and Baby unit capacity, and committing £100 million for bespoke mental health support.
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3
Recommendation
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
We welcome the Government and NHS England’s planned programme of capacity- building for perinatal mental health services over the next 2–3 years. However, new parents are already experiencing the mental health impact of covid-19. Plans for long-term capacity-building must be adapted to meet new needs and should sit alongside more …
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We welcome the Government and NHS England’s planned programme of capacity- building for perinatal mental health services over the next 2–3 years. However, new parents are already experiencing the mental health impact of covid-19. Plans for long-term capacity-building must be adapted to meet new needs and should sit alongside more immediate investment to address the mental health needs of new parents today—as we recommended last year.
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Government response AI summary
The government details new and existing investments, including £100 million for bespoke mental health support for new and expectant parents, and outlines the expansion of NHS perinatal mental health hubs and Mother and Baby units.
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4
Recommendation
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
We recommend that the Government provides additional funding and resources to bring forward the delivery of its perinatal mental health capacity-building programme. We also recommend that the Government fund primary healthcare services to invest in additional mental health catch-up services for new parents impacted by covid-19.
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We recommend that the Government provides additional funding and resources to bring forward the delivery of its perinatal mental health capacity-building programme. We also recommend that the Government fund primary healthcare services to invest in additional mental health catch-up services for new parents impacted by covid-19.
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Government response AI summary
The government outlines significant new investment, including £100 million for bespoke mental health support for new and expectant parents, and details the expansion of NHS perinatal mental health hubs and Mother and Baby units.
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7
Recommendation
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
We remain concerned at the number of new parents reporting limited or no access to health visiting services over the period of the pandemic. Virtual checks were a necessary innovation during covid-19, but new parents and their children must now urgently receive in-person visits—ideally from a health visitor, but, if …
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We remain concerned at the number of new parents reporting limited or no access to health visiting services over the period of the pandemic. Virtual checks were a necessary innovation during covid-19, but new parents and their children must now urgently receive in-person visits—ideally from a health visitor, but, if this is not possible and in view of the time-sensitive nature of this need, then from another qualified professional. We agree with the Government that local authorities are best Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on 27 placed to make decisions on local public health funding priorities, but the unique circumstances of covid-19 demand additional central government funding for local services to meet additional need.
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Government response AI summary
The government reiterates that every family should be offered five face-to-face health and wellbeing reviews by health visitors. It states that the Public Health Grant for local authorities will be maintained in real terms, enabling investment in services, but does not commit to additional central …
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8
Recommendation
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
In order to support parents who have missed health visiting checks, we recommend that the Government provide additional funding to local authorities to enable in- person visits to new parents by appropriate local authority, voluntary organisation, or health visiting staff, to be delivered by the end of the year.
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In order to support parents who have missed health visiting checks, we recommend that the Government provide additional funding to local authorities to enable in- person visits to new parents by appropriate local authority, voluntary organisation, or health visiting staff, to be delivered by the end of the year.
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Government response AI summary
The government states that the Public Health Grant will be maintained in real terms, enabling local authorities to invest in child health visits and existing health visitor services which are already designed to be face-to-face where necessary. They also point to ongoing work to build …
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10
Recommendation
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
We recommend that the Government conduct a review of the services funded under the Adoption Support Fund’s expanded scope in 2020–21, to consider which of the services temporarily offered in response to covid-19 should continue to be in scope for the Fund in future, or even scaled up and offered …
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We recommend that the Government conduct a review of the services funded under the Adoption Support Fund’s expanded scope in 2020–21, to consider which of the services temporarily offered in response to covid-19 should continue to be in scope for the Fund in future, or even scaled up and offered as standard across the whole of England. The review’s findings should be published in advance of the 2021 Spending Review, to ensure the long-term funding necessary to achieve this can be included in future departmental spending allocations. (Paragraph 36) Employment and the work environment
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Government response AI summary
The government states that an evaluation of the Adoption Support Fund's expanded scope in 2020-21 was published on 20 October 2021, aligning with the recommendation for a review. Findings from this evaluation and a wider internal review will inform future business planning and the Spending …
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11
Conclusion
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
Despite existing guidance on protecting vulnerable workers on the Health and Safety Executive website and Working Safely guidance on GOV.UK, many pregnant women still report health and safety concerns at work. Adhering to this guidance should not be seen by employers as optional and there is a need to intensify …
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Despite existing guidance on protecting vulnerable workers on the Health and Safety Executive website and Working Safely guidance on GOV.UK, many pregnant women still report health and safety concerns at work. Adhering to this guidance should not be seen by employers as optional and there is a need to intensify messaging and enforcement to ensure new and expectant parents are, and feel, safe at work. Given that pregnant women were designated as clinically vulnerable, we are surprised to hear that HSE are not formally recording breaches of health and safety with regards to pregnant women and associated enforcement action.
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Government response AI summary
The government states existing health and safety protections for pregnant workers are in place and that HSE does record all breaches of health and safety where enforcement action is taken. They refute the claim of not recording specific breaches for pregnant workers by stating none …
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13
Recommendation
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
We welcome the Government’s commitments to tackling workplace discrimination against new and expectant mothers and the actions it is taking to better understand this issue. We echo witnesses’ dismay at the apparent failure of current employment law and the tribunal system to prevent potentially discriminatory redundancies among new and expectant …
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We welcome the Government’s commitments to tackling workplace discrimination against new and expectant mothers and the actions it is taking to better understand this issue. We echo witnesses’ dismay at the apparent failure of current employment law and the tribunal system to prevent potentially discriminatory redundancies among new and expectant mothers during the pandemic. However, we note these concerns have also previously been expressed by the Women and Equalities 28 Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on Committee as well as in our own report last year, and we support their conclusion that the Government has not taken the necessary preventative actions on this issue— especially in light of its failure to act on the recommendations in our previous report. The Government must swiftly rectify this failing.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepts the recommendation and commits to extending redundancy protections for new and expectant mothers. This includes applying protection from pregnancy notification, extending it for six months after returning to work, and extending it for those on adoption or shared parental leave, with implementation …
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16
Conclusion
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
Despite childcare settings being allowed to remain open since summer 2020, levels of activity remain below pre-pandemic levels. We welcome the steps taken by the Government to support the sector financially during covid-19, but this has not prevented many providers seeing a significant impact on their finances. With ongoing uncertainty …
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Despite childcare settings being allowed to remain open since summer 2020, levels of activity remain below pre-pandemic levels. We welcome the steps taken by the Government to support the sector financially during covid-19, but this has not prevented many providers seeing a significant impact on their finances. With ongoing uncertainty about future demand for their services, there is a real risk the pandemic will contribute to an ongoing erosion of provision or even act as a tipping point and accelerate this trend. Long-term, targeted support from the Government will be required to avoid this outcome, which would have serious consequences for children’s early education and parents’ workforce participation.
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Government response AI summary
The government details over £3.5 billion spent annually on early education entitlements, plus an additional £510 million over three years for early years entitlements. They also outline existing support through Universal Credit and Tax-Free Childcare, aiming to provide long-term support for the childcare sector, while …
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17
Conclusion
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
New parents continue to struggle to access the childcare they need to effectively re-enter the workforce on the terms they want. While covid-19 has exacerbated this challenge, the high cost of paid-for childcare is a barrier which both predates covid-19 and will outlast it. More could be done to ensure …
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New parents continue to struggle to access the childcare they need to effectively re-enter the workforce on the terms they want. While covid-19 has exacerbated this challenge, the high cost of paid-for childcare is a barrier which both predates covid-19 and will outlast it. More could be done to ensure that Government support, especially for parents of children under 3, alleviates the pressures of these costs for working parents.
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Government response AI summary
The government acknowledges the challenges of childcare costs by outlining existing support through Universal Credit and Tax-Free Childcare, and committing significant additional funding of over £500 million for early years entitlements over the next three years to increase hourly rates for providers.
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19
Recommendation
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
We welcome the long-term vision of the Government’s Best Start for Life review, but to date covid-19 recovery funding aimed at children aged under 2 appears to Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on 29 have been unjustifiably neglected compared to the funding made available for older children. …
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We welcome the long-term vision of the Government’s Best Start for Life review, but to date covid-19 recovery funding aimed at children aged under 2 appears to Impact of Covid-19 on new parents: one year on 29 have been unjustifiably neglected compared to the funding made available for older children. As we emerge from the pandemic, the Government must ensure it invests proportionately in the infrastructure which supports these families.
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Government response AI summary
The government accepted the recommendation to invest proportionately by announcing a £500 million families and early years support package for the next three years, including £100 million for parental mental health, £82 million for Family Hubs, and £10 million for staff recruitment.
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22
Recommendation
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
The Government should continue to work with health authorities to communicate information about pregnancy and covid-19, including vaccine safety and emerging data on the risks of covid-19 when pregnant, to support informed decisions by pregnant women.
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The Government should continue to work with health authorities to communicate information about pregnancy and covid-19, including vaccine safety and emerging data on the risks of covid-19 when pregnant, to support informed decisions by pregnant women.
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Government response AI summary
The government details multiple ongoing initiatives to communicate information about pregnancy and COVID-19, including vaccine safety, to support informed decisions by pregnant women. These include letters to healthcare services, media appearances by medical officials, sharing case stories, publishing new data, and changes to vaccine priority …
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25
Conclusion
First Report - Impact of Covid-19 on n…
Accepted
The Government’s response to our report last year failed to acknowledge the need for urgent action to support new parents, rejecting almost all of our recommendations. One year on, many of the concerns we raised remain live issues. While the enormous demands of managing the nation’s response to the pandemic …
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The Government’s response to our report last year failed to acknowledge the need for urgent action to support new parents, rejecting almost all of our recommendations. One year on, many of the concerns we raised remain live issues. While the enormous demands of managing the nation’s response to the pandemic must be recognised, it is bitterly disappointing that the Government has failed to invest in catch-up services that could have helped mitigate the impact on new parents and their children of the first lockdown, or progressed crucial employment protections for new parents. We believe responding to the diverse needs of this group requires cross-Government buy-in and should be seen as a priority moving forward from the pandemic.
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Government response AI summary
The government will not develop an isolated strategy for new parents, but instead integrate learning from all parents into a broader package of support. They announced £500 million of new funding for families and early years, including specific allocations for mental health support, Family Hubs, …
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