Vital Signs: Children's health

Briefing · Parliament

MPs and peers debate infant mortality gaps, puberty blocker trial safety and gaps in early-years support for children

1. 01The most contested exchanges concerned the PATHWAYS clinical trial of puberty-suppressing hormones. In a Commons debate on 23 June, Dr Caroline Johnson (Conservative, Sleaford and North Hykeham) moved a motion calling on the Government to halt the trial, arguing that puberty blockers are powerful drugs given to physically healthy children for a condition that often resolves without treatment. Minister Stephen Kinnock (Labour, Aberafan Maesteg) declined to stop the trial, telling the House that waiting lists for children's gender services had fallen by nearly 3,000 since September 2024 and that a national multidisciplinary team spanning paediatric endocrinology, child and adolescent mental health and safeguarding must approve each participant.
2. 02Infant mortality inequality drew repeated cross-party concern. In the second reading of the Infants, Parents and Carers Bill on 4 September, Dr Allison Gardner (Labour, Stoke-on-Trent South) said Stoke's infant mortality rate of 7.6 per 1,000 live births was almost double the national average and described it as 'a stain on our society'. Iqbal Mohamed (Independent, Dewsbury and Batley) added in the same debate that babies of black ethnicity were nationally more than twice as likely to be stillborn as babies of white ethnicity, calling this 'a scandal' and arguing the Bill was a real opportunity to address that inequality.
3. 03The Infants, Parents and Carers Bill also prompted discussion of the evidence base for early intervention. Ruth Jones (Labour, Newport West and Islwyn) drew on 30 years as a paediatric physiotherapist to argue for the importance of the 1,001 days from conception to age two, citing cases of foetal alcohol syndrome and neonatal heroin withdrawal she had witnessed. Baroness Cass (Crossbench), speaking in a Lords debate on healthcare services on 25 June, welcomed the Government's commitment to shifting paediatric care into community settings but said she remained unclear how neighbourhood health services would fit alongside family hubs, Young Futures hubs and community paediatric services after reading the 10-year health plan.
4. 04A 25 June backbench debate on PANS and PANDAS highlighted the difficulty children face navigating services for rare neuropsychiatric conditions. Wendy Chamberlain (Liberal Democrat, North East Fife), who secured the debate, and Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst (Conservative, Solihull West and Shirley) both described families moving between GPs, CAMHS, paediatrics and emergency departments without a clear pathway. Minister Sharon Hodgson (Labour, Washington and Gateshead South) told the House that UK clinical guidelines for PANS and PANDAS, led by a multidisciplinary group with Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health support, were expected in autumn 2026.
5. 05Newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy and practical barriers to childhood vaccination also featured. In a 22 June debate, Alison Bennett (Liberal Democrat, Mid Sussex) and Ruth Jones cited evidence that early detection of SMA could prevent infant deaths, while Robbie Moore (Conservative, Keighley and Ilkley) called on the Minister to extend screening to West Yorkshire. In a 3 September session on vaccination rates, Jim Shannon (DUP, Strangford) said research from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health showed practical barriers such as lack of transport in deprived and rural areas were a greater driver of declining uptake than vaccine hesitancy.