There are not many occasions on which I believe the answer to a problem is another Act of Parliament.
I instinctively believe in limited government, personal responsibility and restraint when it comes to state intervention. Too often, legislation becomes a substitute for leadership, family, community and common sense.
That is precisely why I have chosen to use my Private Members’ Bill to bring about legislation that will support parents and carers during the 1001 Critical Days of their baby’s life.
The period from pregnancy to the age of two is not simply another phase of childhood. It is the foundation upon which everything else is built: emotional security, language development, physical health, resilience, attachment and even future capability.
A baby’s brain develops more rapidly during the 1001 critical days than at any other point in their life, and a baby who is safe, secure and supported is far more likely to thrive later on. When that support is absent, society too often ends up paying the price further down the line.
For too long, public policy has focused overwhelmingly on crisis management rather than prevention. We spend billions picking up the pieces later, while too often failing to support families early on.
Strong families are not built by the state. But government and taxpayers would reap the rewards of ensuring new families are not left entirely alone at the moment they most need support. Pregnancy to age two is the time when prudent investment delivers the greatest return, in human capital, and in economic saving down the line.
That is why my proposed Infants, Parents and Carers Bill will place a duty on government to: assess the needs of infants, parents and carers; commission and provide appropriate information and services; and report annually to Parliament on how better support is improving outcomes.
Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum are working together on the issue. Current Health Minister Sharon Hodgson worked closely with my former colleague Ed Timpson on the Early Years Commission in 2021, while current MPs including Maya Ellis, Dr Kieran Mullan, Freddie van Mierlo and Jess Asato have all helped drive the urgency, alongside senior figures such as Lucy Powell and Lord David Blunkett.
I must also add to that list perhaps the most determined campaigner of them all, my friend Dame Andrea Leadsom, whose tireless work has helped place the 1,001 critical days firmly on the national agenda.
Since leaving politics, she has established the 1001 Critical Days Foundation, whose supporters and parliamentary advisers span the political spectrum as well as both Houses of Parliament, united in the belief that the 1,001 critical days can shape the course of a lifetime.
Parenting has always been demanding, and most parents are doing their best in difficult circumstances. But if we are serious about improving outcomes for babies, reducing pressure on public services and strengthening society itself, we cannot continue to treat the earliest years as an afterthought.