Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make it his policy to recruit an additional 1,000 health visitors a year.

The Government is committed to raising the healthiest generation of children ever. To achieve this, we must ensure that families have the support they need to give their babies and children the best start and the building blocks for a healthy life.

As set out in the Plan for Change and the Best Start in Life strategy, the Government has committed to strengthening health visiting services so that all families have access to high-quality, personalised support.

The 10-Year Health Plan for England includes a commitment to develop a new Professional Strategy for Nursing and Midwifery for all nurses, midwives, and nursing associates in England. The strategy will set out a long-term professional direction of travel up to 2040 and will be published by the end of the financial year.

In addition, we will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan in spring 2026 to create a workforce ready to deliver a transformed service. The plan will ensure the National Health Service has the right people in the right places, with the right skills to care for patients when they need it.