Source · Select Committees · Petitions Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Accepted
Paragraph: 63
We welcome the long-term vision of the Government’s Best Start for Life review, but to...
Recommendation
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.
Government Response 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.
Paragraph Reference:
63
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government has announced a £500 million families and early years support package of investment for the next three years. This will ensure children get the best start in life. the Rt Hon Andrea Leadsom MP’s ‘Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days ’, which found that the first 1001 days, from conception until the age 2, are critical to laying the building blocks for lifelong emotional and physical health. The report called for action to ensure that babies and families have access to the services they need to thrive. The recent funding includes £100 million for bespoke mental health support for new and expectant parents, £82 million to expand the network of Family Hubs to a further 75 Local Authorities across England, and £10 million for Local Authorities to trial and test new and innovative recruitment models to train up more staff. Nursery staff will also have access to more high-quality training funded by a separate £153 million investment announced as part of the £1.4 billion education recovery package in Summer 2021. To best utilise the capacity of professional health visitors, many local authorities use a mixed skills workforce, led by health visitors, with other staff supporting health visitors to deliver particular elements of the health visiting programme.