The Health and Social Care Committee is today (Friday 21 March)
launching a new inquiry on the first 1000 days of life, the
period from a child's conception to age two - widely recognised
as a critical period for development which fundamentally shapes
long-term health, well-being, and life outcomes.
Back in 2019, a previous Health and Social Care Committee
reported on the topic
and found significant variation in the provision of support to
parents and families in the first 1000 days.
MPs on the cross-party Committee chaired by Liberal Democrat MP
have chosen to revisit the
subject now, in the context of the Government making “breaking
down barriers to opportunity” one of its six missions within its
Plan for Change and including a commitment to “set every child up
for the best start in life”.
The new inquiry will be an opportunity for MPs to investigate
whether progress has been made on outcomes for children and young
people since 2019, examining how effective Family Hubs and the
introduction of integrated care systems (ICSs) have been in
improving outcomes.
The Committee will probe what the barriers are to delivering
high-quality early years services, particularly in Family Hubs
and through neonatal and paediatric services, and how these
barriers can be addressed.
The inquiry will also examine how the Government can most
effectively tackle disparities in infant health outcomes,
including disparities in outcomes for disabled children.
MPs will also look ahead, to consider what the Government should
prioritise in upcoming funding allocations for early years
services.
The new inquiry will consider the principle of ‘proportionate
universalism', an approach which means that services are
available to all but are targeted in proportion to the level of
need.
The Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, MP,
said:
“There is overwhelming and unambiguous evidence on
the crucial importance of the first 1000 days of life in shaping
children's development and outcomes in later
life.
“If the best conditions for healthy development are
missing from a child's life in the first 1000 days, this can have
significant impacts on their life chances, including their
physical and mental health, their education, their work and their
social and emotional well-being. Negative outcomes for children
can also impact other areas of governmental responsibility,
including the health service, the economy, and social
stability.
“It is the importance of this short but critical time
in a child's life that is the reason why our committee has chosen
to focus our attention on it in our new inquiry. We want to
renew political focus on this vital period in a child's
life.
“We will assess whether the landscape has changed
since a previous committee reported on the topic in 2019 and will
look at the current situation facing new parents and children's
early years. As part of our inquiry, we will be looking into
variations in provision for infant health and will delve into the
inequalities that
exist.
“We are today launching a call for evidence to hear
from parents, early years practitioners, health professionals,
local government, charities and other stakeholders on a range of
questions which will inform practical recommendations we make to
the Government on how to improve outcomes for children and give
every child the best start in
life.”
Call for evidence
The Committee has today (Friday 21 March) launched a call for
evidence and welcomes written submissions responding to the
following questions by Monday 21 April 2025.
- What progress has been made since
the previous Committee's 2019 First 1000 days of life report in
terms of outcomes for children and young people in delivering
integrated early years through Family Hubs? In particular what
progress has been made on the calls in the Committee's 2019
report for a) Proportionate universalism and b) Greater
integration and multi-agency working?
- What should the Government
prioritise in upcoming funding allocations for early years
services?
- How effective have Family Hubs and
the introduction of integrated care systems been in improving
early childhood outcomes?
- What are the key barriers to
delivering high-quality early years services, particularly in
Family Hubs and through neonatal and paediatric services, and how
can they be addressed?
- How can vaccine uptake be most
effectively increased and supported in the first 1000 days?
- How can the Government most
effectively tackle inequalities in access and infant health
outcomes for those from underserved groups including those with
disabilities, or from ethnic minority or deprived backgrounds?
- What could the Government learn
from examples of best practice that exist in local authorities,
NHS Trusts, or internationally?
Submissions to the above call for evidence can be made on the
Committee's website, (on this page which will be live
on Friday) until 11.59pm on Monday 21 April 2025.
