Andrea Leadsom to lead review into health inequalities among babies and infants

The review has been commissioned by the Prime Minster Boris Johnson and led by former cabinet member and Conservative leadership candidate Andrea Leadsom MP.

In 2018, she was commissioned by former Prime Minister Theresa May to chair an inter-ministerial group on early years support. This involved input from a range of government departments with findings being sent to ministers in July 2019 but never published.

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The scope of the new review will look at barriers to child development, including social and emotional factors and early childhood experiences.

The scope of the review for the Department of Health and Social Care is to look at health inequalities from birth to two and a half.

A focus will be to consider the affect of the Covid-19 pandemic on young children and minimizing risks to their health.

Other factors being considered include stress and smoking in pregnancy as well as communication and language issues.

How technology can help improve outcomes for young children is another focus of the review, which plans to identify policy and services that “will improve the outcomes for vulnerable babies, children and their families”, says the government,

According to NHS England, one in five mothers and one in 10 fathers experience mental health issues during pregnancy and after birth. Another issue covered will be how pregnancy can be a trigger for domestic abuse, with between 15 and 30 per cent of attacks in the home starting at this time.

“Infant mental health is about more than babies,” said Leadsom, who was a founder of the Northamptonshire Parent Infant Partnership, a charity providing therapeutic support to help parents bond with their babies.  

“It’s about improving our whole lives and striving for better outcomes that have a profound effect from cradle to grave.”

NCB chief executive Anna Feuchtwang welcomed the review’s commitment to tackle health inequalities.

But she urged Leadsom to ensure that the “voice of parents” are central to the review.

“Bringing parents on board is crucial, particularly those who have to overcome inequality themselves, particularly as a result of income, ethnicity or disability,” said Feuchtwang.

She also called for the review’s recommendations to be backed by investment and for interim results, particularly around funding, to be published in good time before the government’s autumn Spending Review.

Local Government Association children and young people board chair Judith Blake added: “It is vital that it recognises the need for a joined-up approach across all public services and government departments, in order to ensure future generations of children and adults are healthy.

“The importance of early intervention and prevention services for children and families cannot be overstated and we are keen to work with the review to ensure councils have the right resources to support infants and parents when they need it most as part of a long-term sustainable funding settlement for early help and support services.”

Leadsom is Conservative MP for South Northamptonshire and has served in the cabinet as leader of the House of Commons as well as Environment Secretary, before quitting in 2019 over the government’s Brexit strategy.

She stood for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 2016 and 2019. Her 2016 leadership campaign was marred by controversy after she suggested in a national newspaper interview that being a mother meant she had a bigger stake in the future than rival Theresa May.

Leadsom also founded the Parent Infant Foundation, the national charity for parent infant partnerships which set up branches in four further counties since its inception.