Charities call on health secretary to end ‘baby blindspot’

While £3 billion has been spent on catch-up funding for older children, the Government has not provided any funding for children under two, and no assessment on the impact of Covid on the development of babies and toddlers.

The letter says, ‘This week marks the end of many restrictions in England. Since March 2020, nearly one million babies have been born across the UK. Given everything that science tells us about the critical importance of the earliest years of life, our babies and toddlers must now be a priority for Government as we recover from the pandemic.

‘The pandemic has been difficult for many families,’ it continues, ‘with impacts on a range of factors that significantly contribute to child development such as maternal mental health; parental conflict and domestic abuse; poverty, and access to stimulating activities including early learning and childcare.

‘As lockdown lifts, many of the challenges for families will continue. Indeed, some challenges– such as anxiety and isolation amongst pregnant women – may increase. And with many services still not operating at normal levels and many routine contacts having been missed, a worrying number of babies remain invisible to public services and the challenges facing them and their families remain unseen and unaddressed.'

It calls for urgent action to ensure that babies’ health, wellbeing and safety is prioritised and that families have access to quality services in their area.

‘More than £3bn has been spent on mitigating the impact of the pandemic on older children, but nothing on those under two,’ the letter says.

‘We very much hope that, as Secretary of State, you can end the “baby blindspot” in Government policy. Urgent action is needed now to address the impacts of the pandemic on babies and their families, and to ensure all our children have the best start in life.’

The letter highlights three changes it says could make a significant difference:

1. Securing funding in the upcoming Spending Review to deliver the Government’s Best Start for Life vision.
2. Setting out clear expectations in the Health and Care Bill that local partners will cooperate in order to improve outcomes and reducing inequalities for children in the first 1001 days.
3. Ensure that the new Office of Health Promotion can intervene when a local area is not delivering the Healthy Child Programme or is experiencing poor, declining, or unequal outcomes in the first 1001 days, providing additional support and resources where needed.

The letter has been signed by 64 charities and supporter organisations including the Parent-Infant Foundation, NSPCC, NCT, Action for Children and Home-Start UK.

• Read the letter in full here