Government to double the number of families helped by the Family Nurse Partnership programme

Lansley said: "We know that early intervention – as provided by the Family Nurse Partnership programme – can help young parents to look after their children better and can help break intergenerational patterns of disadvantage. And it can improve the health and wellbeing of the parents themselves – they are reducing smoking during pregnancy, are coping better with pregnancy, labour and parenthood, and are improving their confidence and self-esteem. The evidence base for expanding the programme is clear.

"We need to do much more to tackle health inequalities and the deep-rooted social problems that cause ill-health. Giving support to new parents in their homes is just the start. We will shortly be publishing a public health white paper that will set out how we will help disadvantaged areas to change their environment, helping whole communities to improve their health and wellbeing."