LGA responds to Health and Social Care Committee report on first 1000 days of life

“Despite facing an overall funding gap of £8 billion by 2025, councils still spent more on those aged 0-5 than in any other area of public health, often exceeding the amount given to them by government."

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Responding to a Health and Social Care Committee report on the first 1000 days of life, Cllr Ian Hudspeth, Chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:

“The importance of early intervention and prevention services for children and families cannot be overstated and this report rightly recognises the crucial support provided by councils, and the significant financial constraints they are under.

“Despite facing an overall funding gap of £8 billion by 2025, councils still spent more on those aged 0-5 than in any other area of public health, often exceeding the amount given to them by government.

“There has also been a 20 per cent drop in the number of health visitors since 2015, when responsibility was transferred to local government without enough funding to grow the workforce and pass on the necessary skills. Councils need well-trained, highly skilled health visitors and public health nurses and we support the report’s call for a holistic workforce plan for the first 1000 days of a child’s life, which must be well resourced. 

“Councils have pulled out all the stops to try to prioritise early years and intervention services, but can only do so much in the face of such funding pressures. Therefore it is vital that in the forthcoming Spending Review, the Government reverses the £700 million of public health reductions, to enable councils to work more closely with the NHS, implement best practice and most importantly help give children the best start in life.”


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