Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what guidance his Department issues on the (a) role of health visitors operating in designated children's centres and (b) ratio of health visitors to children under five years old.

Local authorities and commissioners of local health services have statutory duties to consider providing services through children’s centres. The ‘Sure Start children’s centres statutory guidance’*, provides guidance on what local authorities and commissioners of local health services should do when fulfilling their statutory responsibilities and includes guidance on the role of health visitors. In particular it states that, “Local authorities should consider how they can use their network of children’s centres to greatest effect through links with other services, including: through links to midwifery, general practitioners and, health visitors. As a minimum, it is expected that every children’s centre should have access to a named health visitor….” Neither the Department for Education nor the Department of Health has issued guidance relating to the ratio of health visitors to children under five years old.

* published by Department for Education, April 2013:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sure-start-childrens-centres