Parent-Infant Foundation campaign to save Start for Life

Ahead of the Budget on Wednesday, the Parent-Infant Foundation has been campaigning hard for the government to extend funding for Start for Life.  Currently the programme funding ends on 1 April 2025, and local leaders are worried about the future of services that support babies and their families.

Over the summer we surveyed local authorities and clinical leads, and found unanimous support for the Start for Life programme.  Over the last few weeks we have met government officials and shared our findings.

Local leaders warned that services supporting vulnerable babies, parents and carers will soon stop accepting new families as the ‘cliff-edge’ of funding approaches. They are worried for the mental health of mothers, and fear that vulnerable babies could be put at risk, if the funding ends early next year. 

In our submission to the Treasury ahead of the Budget, we called for an extension of Start for Life funding, explaining the services funded by the programme are a ‘lifeline’ for families. We also called for national roll-out of the Start for Life programme to all English local authorities, as recommended by the CQC and Ofsted. Currently only half (75) of upper-tier local authorities receive Start for Life funding.

Alongside these submissions, we wrote to the Prime Minister, in a letter supported by the National Children’s Bureau, Home-Start UK, and the Breastfeeding Alliance. The letter reminded Sir Keir Starmer that if the government fails to act, the consequences will be devastating. A loss of funding for the programme (which includes funding for infant feeding, parent-infant relationship and perinatal mental health services) could leave vulnerable babies at risk.  We pointed out this would place an even greater burden on an already overstretched NHS and social care system.

Our concerns were reported by the media this week.  ‘The New European’ cited our campaign and urged the Chancellor to extend Start for Life funding to every local authority.    They say this would be a ‘Crowd pleasing open goal for labour’.. And should be an ‘easy course of action for a Labour chancellor who knows she cannot do anything as comprehensive as Sure Start just yet’, advising Rachel Reeves to, ‘at least extend the sticking plaster service to cover all of England..’

Tamora Langley, Head of Policy and Communications at the Parent-Infant Foundation added, “Start for Life is the only national strategy focused on babies. It may not be as ambitious as Sure Start was, but it is already delivering great results. If the government ends the funding, local leaders say they will be unable to keep essential services going. We hope that Ministers have taken note, and that our campaign with partner charities over recent months will lead to an extension of Start for Life funding in Wednesday’s Budget.”

See the results of our local leaders Start for Life survey here.