Meeting of the Parliament 02 November 2023
We are currently speaking to medics in the neonatal unit in Wishaw. However, I take the opportunity to emphasise the important, evidence-driven changes that we are making in neonatal intensive care. Due to pioneering advances in medicine, babies who are born at the extremes of prematurity today stand a much better chance of healthy survival. Evidence tells us that that complex care is safest in units that treat a higher number of babies, with co-located specialist services so that they can get the best chance in life.
We need to join up our policies and services, building a more strategic approach that is centred around the needs of children and families. That will build on so many examples of great collaboration, from the wonderfully fun bookbug sessions to the valuable and crucial care that we provide through our universal health services.
The transformational change programme will build on the significant approaches that we are already delivering, with a shared aim of improving early child development and clearly reducing the level of child development concerns. Without intervention to support babies, young children and adults who are affected by adversity, we hold back our nation in terms of both the long-term consequences for jobs and income and the health and wellbeing of our citizens.
We need to act collectively, and we need to act now, to support all the children, parents and carers who need help. Healthy and positive early child development requires family-friendly environments, services and supports that are focused on the needs and rights of babies and young families. Delivering that requires action across Government, with the support of health boards, local authorities and the third sector.
By working together, we will achieve outcomes that are greater than the sum of their parts. I believe that, with the right action, we could see the level of early child development concerns reduce by a quarter by 2030. I am sure that we can all, across the chamber, agree that creating a culture and environment that fully support every child’s development is of utmost importance.
Children are the adults of tomorrow, and providing those future adults with the best life chances, the highest quality of life and the opportunity to contribute positively to the economy and to society must start even before they are born. I hope that members on all sides of the chamber can recognise the excellent progress that we have made, while agreeing that more is needed if we are to truly make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up in.
I highlight a quote from the World Bank, which says:
“Investing in the early years is one of the?smartest investments?a country can make to break the cycle of poverty, address inequality, and boost productivity later in life.”
I whole-heartedly recognise that position. I and my ministerial colleagues are focused on ensuring that Scotland is a nation where children can develop, grow and reach their full potential. I commend the motion to Parliament and thank all members here today for their continued support of measures to promote early child development, for our youngest children of today and future generations of tomorrow.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises the need for an Early Child Development Transformational Change programme to build on the excellent and world-leading practice already delivered in Scotland, and to further act on the unique and critical period of child development from pre-pregnancy to age three, when experiences and the environment shape the foundations for life and population health, including physical and mental health and wellbeing, life expectancy, educational attainment and participation in the economy and community; is committed to focussing collective efforts on giving all babies and children in Scotland the best possible start by making sure that the Scottish Government applies the latest evidence and continues to invest in and improve its existing policies, to ensure that it is “getting it right for every child”; considers that it can build on the targeted investments that it has already made in support of families pre-birth to three and that joint working can create a culture, environment, economy and society that prioritises and enhances early child development, to realise its ambition of creating a more healthy, fair and equal society; notes the negative impact that the UK Government austerity measures and policies such as the two-child benefit cap continue to have on child development, and welcomes Scottish Government interventions, including the Baby Box and the Scottish Child Payment, to give children the best possible start in life.
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