Who is speaking up for babies in Scotland?

On 7^th May, Scotland elects a new government.   Ahead of the election, the Parent-Infant Foundation convened a coalition of children’s and mental health charities (Save the Children, NSPCC, Home-Start UK, Mental Health Foundation, Parenting Across Scotland and Starcatchers) to call on all political parties to ‘Speak up for babies in Scotland’  

With just over a week until the elections, we are keen to see how each of the main parties in Scotland is thinking about Scotland’s youngest citizens.  
 
Babies don’t vote, so it’s easy for politicians not to consider what services they need and for their rights to be ignored. But there is a strong argument for putting babies at the forefront of our thinking when developing policies to support families, and society as a whole.  
 
Many of the building blocks needed for health and happiness are put in place at the very start of life.  Inequality begins before birth and continues throughout life; 17% of children in Scotland have a developmental concern recorded at their 27-30 month health visitor check. This increases to 25% among low-income households. (1)  

Some of Scotland’s main parties plan to reduce child poverty through targeted social security support. For example, the SNP would extend the Scottish Child Payment (SCP) to £40 per week for all eligible families with babies under one, while the Greens would increase it to £40, with a target of £55 by 2030. The Greens also promise supplements for the poorest families and increased financial support for parents under 25. 

While these economic measures are designed to boost family income, they don’t directly address the emotional and developmental needs of babies. We know more than 9,000 babies in Scotland are living in fear, confusion and distress.  Certainly, the impacts of poverty play a role here, but there is also a wider range of factors that disrupt the parent-infant relationship including mental and physical health difficulties and domestic abuse.  In the ‘Manifesto for Babies in Scotland’, our partner charities have outlined a range of policies that are needed to support babies and parent-infant relationships. 

Here’s a quick rundown of what each Scottish political party has said about babies… 

The SNP’s main pledges centre on Whole Family Support and increasing the availability of funded childcare from nine months old.  

Scottish Labour say they will train and recruit the health visitors needed to provide home visits between pre-birth and age five and continue delivering the Promise.  

The Scottish Greens would extend funded childcare to all children from six months old and allow some of this funding to be used for parents to reduce their working hours and spend more time at home with their baby. 

The Scottish Liberal Democrats would develop ‘family support hubs’ offering early, local and holistic help and make sure that the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund is working effectively. 

Reform UK have not made any mention of babies in their manifesto, focusing on proposals to change the school curriculum and strengthen discipline measures. 

The Scottish Conservatives would introduce a two-child limit on the Scottish Child Payment.  They would also help parents return to work with a new ‘extra hours’ model of childcare from nine months. 

All this shows is there is still a significant ‘baby blindspot’ among political parties. While there are many pledges to extend access to childcare for the youngest children, and some efforts to increase family income, there is scant focus on babies receiving the consistent loving care they need for healthy emotional development, or supporting new parents during the crucial stage from pregnancy to age two. 

The policy landscape in Scotland affecting babies is fragmented with a range of early years policies spread across different government directorates. 

The Speak up for Babies in Scotland coalition is calling on all parties now to commit to reaching every baby born in Scotland with universal services and identifying and helping those who need specialist support. A joined up cross-government strategy for babies will be key to improving outcomes and coordinating policy. 

While there is some consensus across parties about the importance of sustainable multi-year funding for both the third sector and councils to deliver services for families with babies and young children, exact proposed mechanisms for funding and service delivery remain unclear. Investment in frontline services must be protected and sustainable year on year. 

Emerging evidence from the recent Public Health Scotland evaluation of perinatal and infant mental health care in Scotland suggests that infant mental health is not always well understood as a concept among health professionals. This suggests frontline staff could benefit from additional training.  A mother’s relationship with her baby is the thing she is least likely to be asked about by health professionals, with four in 10 mums not asked about the parent-infant relationship. 

This testimony from a parent who received specialist mental health support with the birth of her second child, illustrates how early intervention could have prevented her from reaching breaking point with her first child, and the vital importance of services: 

“After my first child was born in 2018, I suffered severe postnatal depression and anxiety. I was so ashamed that I hid it for nine months, until suicidal thoughts forced me to seek help. Through charity-funded peer support groups, my local GP, and 1:1 counselling via Midlothian Sure Start, I slowly recovered, but the impact of waiting so long affected both me and my son deeply. I was lucky to access the help I needed before it was too late. 

When I became pregnant again in 2022, I was determined to advocate for myself. I was open with healthcare providers from the start and when I began experiencing warning signs again, my health visitor referred me to Lothian Parent and Infant Relationship Service, and I was seen by a psychologist in my home with my daughter within eight weeks of her birth.  
 
That early intervention was life changing. Being heard and supported by multiple professionals before my difficulties could escalate made all the difference, allowing me to raise my daughter in the positive, nurturing environment that every child deserves.” 

The Manifesto for Babies in Scotland sets out five headline recommendations and calls for a cross-government strategy to join up policy around babies’ emotional wellbeing, developmental needs, rights and participation. 

We are asking political candidates to join our campaign and ‘Speak up for babies in Scotland’ and have a template email local services can use to contact their local candidates. 

References: (1) Early Child Development Statistics Scotland 2023-2024