New LGA-commissioned research has found that integrated local services are crucial to meeting the national ambition for 75 per cent of five-year-olds to reach a good level of development (GLD) by 2028.
The findings follow a report from the Commons’ Health and Social Care Committee, which found that babies and young children in England have some of the worst child health outcomes in Europe and called for increased recruitment of health visitors.
The LGA research engaged with 60 council areas. It revealed that, while multi-agency working helps identify children who may otherwise fall through gaps, progress is being held back by workforce shortages, uneven access to high-quality early years education and childcare, inconsistent data sharing and funding disparities.
Councils have developed local models that bring together maternity, health visiting, social care, family help, libraries, public health and mental health support. But with 78 not receiving Healthy Babies (Start for Life) funding, thousands of families are missing out on vital perinatal mental health, infant feeding and early intervention programmes.
Cllr Amanda Hopgood, Chair of the LGA’s Children, Young People and Families Committee, said giving every child the best start in life “cannot be achieved without continued workforce investment and development”, including health visitors and early years professionals, to build sustainable and equally accessible services.
Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor MBE, Chair of the LGA’s Health and Wellbeing Committee, said councils are “committed to delivering tailored and preventative services to support the needs of local children and families. However, we have serious concerns that this is undermined by the Government’s decision not to extend Start for Life funding for enhanced services to councils newly joining the Best Start Family Hubs programme.
“Without equitable funding, the promise of Family Hubs and achievement of our GLD targets cannot be fully realised.”
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