Government Response to First 1000 Days Report with 15 Recommendations
Summary
The DHSC published its formal response to the Health and Social Care Committee's January 2026 report on early childhood development. The response addresses 15 recommendations across five themes: Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, health visitors, workforce, vaccinations, and integration between services. The government states it 'is taking action across the areas covered in the report' but does not detail specific policy changes or compliance obligations.
What changed
The DHSC has issued a formal response to the Health and Social Care Committee's report on early childhood development, addressing all 15 recommendations made in the committee's January 2026 publication. The five thematic areas covered are Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, health visitors, workforce, vaccinations, and integration between services. The government states it 'welcomes the report' and 'is taking action across the areas' but the response does not establish new legal obligations or detail specific policy commitments.
Healthcare providers, local authorities, and early years service commissioners should note the government's stated intention to act in these five areas. The response signals increased policy attention on early childhood services in England, though no immediate compliance requirements are imposed. Stakeholders may wish to monitor for forthcoming implementation measures that could create obligations.
Archived snapshot
Apr 22, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
Policy paper
Government response to the report ‘The First 1000 Days: a renewed focus’
The government's response to the Health and Social Care Committee report on improving support for babies, children and their families in the first 1,000 days of life.
From: Department of Health and Social Care Published 22 April 2026 Get emails about this page
Applies to England
Documents
Government response to the Health and Social Care Committee's fifth report of session 2024 to 2026, 'The First 1000 Days: a renewed focus'
Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-6279-6, CP 1556
PDF, 1.15 MB, 29 pages
Government response to the Health and Social Care Committee's fifth report of session 2024 to 2026, 'The First 1000 Days: a renewed focus'
Ref: ISBN 978-1-5286-6279-6, CP 1556
HTML
Details
This is the government’s formal response to the Health and Social Care Committee’s report ‘The First 1000 Days: a renewed focus’, published on 22 January 2026.
The committee’s report set out its conclusions and made 15 recommendations against the following themes:
- Family Hubs and Start for Life programme
- health visitors
- workforce
- vaccinations
- integration between services The government welcomes the report and is grateful to everybody who contributed their time and expertise to the inquiry.
This government is clear on its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever and give every child the very best start in life. We share the committee’s ambition to ensure that all babies, children and their families can access the support they need, regardless of their circumstances, and are taking action across the areas covered in the report to support this.
Published 22 April 2026 Get emails about this page Print this page
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