Children and Young People's Health Policy Influencing Group (HPIG)

Hosted by the National Children’s Bureau (NCB) and the Council for Disabled Children (CDC), the Children and Young People’s Health Policy Influencing Group (HPIG) represents a strong, independent voluntary and community sector voice on babies, children and young people’s physical and mental health issues in England. 

Membership of the group includes over 70 leading national charities, Royal Colleges and professional associations engaging in advocacy, research, practice development and service delivery to improve babies, children and young people’s health. We work for babies, children and young people with a range of backgrounds and needs, including but not limited to: disabled children and young people and those with special educational needs; children and young people in care and care leavers; young carers; and children and young people with cancer. 

Together, our work spans the full range of services that aim to improve babies, children and young people’s health, from health promotion and disease prevention to acute medical care. The coalition reflects the much-needed connections across services in health, education, early years, youth work and the criminal justice system.  

What we do 

The group meets regularly with members discussing government legislation, guidance and consultations, and sharing key insights and information from their area of expertise and work. We identify shared priorities for the health needs of babies, children and young people which we use to inform our sector influencing.  

In recent years, HPIG played a key role during the passage of the Health and Care Act 2022, and we welcomed the government amendments to the Act which ensured the needs of babies, children and young people would be at the heart of the new system.

We continue to work collaboratively with DHSC, the Hewitt Review and NHS England and play a supportive role with the implementation of the Act. The group has also produced joint responses around key policy areas including Dame Andrea Leadsom’s Early Years Healthy Development Review, the Health Disparities White Paper, the SEND Green Paper, the Prevention Inquiry and the Social Care Implementation Strategy. HPIG has also provided evidence to inform DHSC and DfE’s roll-out of the Start for Life and Family Hub Programme.