The First 1000 Days: a renewed focus

Health and Social Care Committee Open Inquiry
Opened: 21 Mar 2025 Parliament page
The first 1000 days of life, from conception to age two, are widely recognised as a critical period for child development, shaping long-term health, well-being, and life outcomes.The previous Committee examined this period in its 2019 First 1000 days of life inquiryconsidering national strategy, current spending and barriers to investment … Read more
18 Recommendations
8 Conclusions
1 Report
4 Oral sessions
3 Letters
4 Events
Activity timeline 9 events
28 Apr
2026
Correspondence
22 Apr
2026
Report published
22 Jan
2026
Report published
15 Oct
2025
Correspondence
3 Sep
2025
Oral evidence
2 Jul
2025
Oral evidence
2 Jul
2025
Correspondence
4 Jun
2025
Oral evidence
7 May
2025
Oral evidence
Oral evidence sessions 4 sessions
3 Sep 2025
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Oral Evidence
Ashley Dalton MP · Department of Health and Social Care Liz Ketch · Department of Health and Social Care Susie Owen · Department for Education
2 Jul 2025
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Oral Evidence
Anna Bird · Disabled Children's Partnership Dr Amit Aggarwal · Medical Affairs and Strategic Partnerships Dr Claire Fuller · NHS England Dr Doug Simkiss · Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Dr Helen Skirrow · Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London Dr Helen Stewart · The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health Dr Sally Payne · Royal College of Occupational Therapists Jane Harris · Speech and Language UK Janet Cooper · Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists
4 Jun 2025
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Oral Evidence
Alison Morton · Institute of Health Visiting Dr Christine Farquharson · Institute for Fiscal Studies Rachel Roberts · Hull City Council Rukshana Kapasi · Barnardos
7 May 2025
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Oral Evidence
Professor Sir Michael Marmot · University College London (UCL) Rt Hon Dame Andrea Leadsom DBE · Early Years Healthy Development Review
Title HC No. Published Items Response
5th Report - First 1000 days: a renewed focus HC 802 22 Jan 2026 26 Responded
Recommendations & Conclusions
5 results
Clear
7 Recommendation Acknowledged
5th Report - First 1000 days: a re…
Potential overlap between Neighbourhood Health Centres and Family Hubs requires clear management strategy.
We welcome the Government’s intention for Neighbourhood Health Services and Neighbourhood Health Centres to work in partnership with Family Hubs. Given that both models aim to bring together health and broader support services in a “one stop shop”, it will … Read more
Government Response
The government stated it would consider how to improve services as part of the 10 Year Health Plan, but did not provide specific information on how it will manage the potential overlap between Neighbourhood Health Centres and Family Hubs as requested.
Department of Health and Social Care
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8 Conclusion Acknowledged
5th Report - First 1000 days: a re…
Decimated health visitor workforce threatens government ambition for children's early life outcomes.
The Government will fail to deliver on its ambition to give every child the best start in life unless it takes urgent action to rebuild the health visitor workforce, which has been decimated over the last 10 years. (Conclusion, Paragraph 55)
Government Response
The government acknowledges the concern about the health visitor workforce and explains that the 10-Year Workforce Plan, due in spring 2026, will address all relevant staff groups, including health visitors, through a clear roadmap covering recruitment, training, and retention. It also states that overall workforce growth will slow, and precise future numbers will not be set.
Department of Health and Social Care
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22 Conclusion Acknowledged
5th Report - First 1000 days: a re…
Government lacks essential data on children's health outcomes in first 1000 days.
The Government does not have access the data it needs on children’s health outcomes during the first 1000 days. Without this data it will struggle to deliver meaningful improvements or implement a shared outcomes framework. (Conclusion, Paragraph 116) Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges the need for improved data granularity and states that work is underway to transition to record-level data reporting for community health services, which will eventually include demographic data. However, it notes there are currently no plans for further national disaggregation of waiting list data for children under 2 due to disclosure rules, although local providers have access to this data.
Department of Health and Social Care
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24 Conclusion Acknowledged
5th Report - First 1000 days: a re…
Concerns about data sharing legislation act as a barrier to effective partnership.
Throughout this inquiry we heard that concerns about the legislation around data sharing was acting as a barrier to partners working effectively together. While some local areas have developed their own systems to support effective data sharing, stakeholders were clear … Read more
Government Response
The government acknowledges concerns regarding data sharing barriers by outlining existing information governance guidance from NHS England and detailing planned central support initiatives. These include developing a model data-sharing agreement for safeguarding data, piloting IG surgeries for professionals, and making changes to the Control of Patient Information Regulations to facilitate data sharing.
Department of Health and Social Care
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26 Recommendation Acknowledged
5th Report - First 1000 days: a re…
Support shared outcomes framework with implementation plan and clarify ministerial responsibility across departments.
The absence of a shared outcomes framework undermines accountability and hinders strategic planning across local systems. We welcome the Government’s plans to produce a shared outcomes framework. We recommend that the final framework be supported by an implementation plan that … Read more
Government Response
The government welcomed the committee's recognition and noted the recommendation regarding implementation and accountability. They referenced the existing Local Outcomes Framework (LOF) but did not commit to an implementation plan for the final framework or clearly set out ministerial responsibilities for it.
Department of Health and Social Care
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Government Response AI assessment · 26 of 18 classified
Accepted 6
Accepted in Part 4
Acknowledged 5
Deferred 2
Not Addressed 6
Rejected 3
Total 18 recs + 8 conclusions
Correspondence 3 letters
28 Apr 2026 Correspondence from Minister Hodgson - First 1000 Days Response
Parliament page
15 Oct 2025 Correspondence from Minister Dalton re First 1000 days evidence session
Parliament page
2 Jul 2025 Correspondence from Minister Daby re the First 1000 Days
Parliament page