Our Spending Review Representation

Today, the Parent-Infant Foundation submitted a representation to the Treasury ahead of this autumn’s Spending Review.

The submission makes the case for £88 million of investment over the Spending Review period to fund the development and employment of a specialist parent-infant workforce, and a national development programme to roll out specialised parent-infant relationship teams.

Specialised parent-infant relationship teams deliver highly skilled infant mental health provision. They have the specialist skills to work with babies and their families where there are severe, complex and persistent problems in early parent-infant relationships. They drive system change by providing expertise, consultation and supervision to other local services.

Our submission sets out a plan to secure specialised parent-infant relationship teams operating in all areas of England by 2025. It describes how providing high-quality interventions to promote and protect infant mental health, these services reduce the number of children experiencing early relational trauma and disorganised attachment. This, in turn, prevents or reduces long term harm to children’s emotional and cognitive development and impacts on their mental and physical health.

For several years, this Government has recognised the importance of early mental health and early relationships. It’s now time to turn rhetoric into reality. The Spending Review provides a timely opportunity to invest in parent-infant teams.

Read our full submission here.

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