Ten tests for the NHS Children and Young People's Modern Service Framework (MSF)
HPIG acts as the Stakeholder Council for NHS England's CYP Transformation Programme, which is currently developing the Children and Young People's Modern Service Framework (MSF). The co-chairs of HPIG sit on the advisory board to influence this work so it centres babies, children and young people as a key population health group.
With a narrow yet significant window to shape the framework’s direction before key decisions are taken, HPIG has developed a paper that sets out ‘ten tests' for the MSF for Babies, Children and Young People. It distils the children’s sector’s expectations into a concise set of criteria against which HPIG will assess the MSF when it is published and as it is implemented.
Child Health Workforce Alliance
The Child Health Workforce Alliance was launched in May 2025, with an aim to strengthen commitments to the children’s health workforce in the refresh of the NHS Workforce Plan. It brought together over 25 leading organisations across health, education, and social care and acts as an HPIG Working Group.
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) provided backbone funding to this group, with the National Children’s Bureau acting as the secretariat.
- In September 2025, the alliance published a position paper setting out policy levers that must be influenced in order to build a child-friendly workforce that is well-versed in the specific needs of babies, children and young people
- The Child Health Workforce Alliance reached out to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and the Secretary of State for Education, urging both to engage meaningfully in developing the new NHS workforce plan.
Achievements and Engagement:
- Social Work Today mentioned the Child Health Workforce Alliance highlighting the rise in safeguarding risks: Safeguarding risks rise as children’s health workforce reaches 'crisis point' | Social Work Today
- As secretariat of HPIG, the National Children’s Bureau coordinated a consultation response to the 10 Year Workforce Plan. The Senior Planning Lead on Workforce Training & Education - Integrated Workforce Planning at NHS England met with HPIG members and cited how the work of the Alliance was feeding into the Workforce Plan
Influencing the implementation of the Ten Year Health Plan
As the government embarks on its ambitious programme of reform to the NHS, HPIG is strongly advocating that any health system fit for the future, must meet the needs of babies, children and young people as a distinct population health group.
HPIG welcomed the government’s Ten-Year Health Plan and its ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. In October 2025, it published a policy briefing on implementing the NHS 10 Year Health Plan. The briefing was shared with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and officials from the Department of Health and Social Care. It was instrumental in securing a meeting with Baroness Merron to discuss priorities to improve children and young people’s mental health.
The briefing sets out how a robust implementation plan is needed to fundamentally reprioritise the way babies, children and young people are served by the health system. It highlights nine key areas for action including tackling health inequalities, building a dedicated child health workforce strategy, strengthening prevention and early intervention, and embedding children’s mental health in neighbourhood health models.
Read the briefing here: Briefing: Implementing the NHS 10 Year Health Plan.pdf
Engagement
Meeting with Baroness Meron
In November 2025, Baroness Meron, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Department of Health and Social Care, requested a meeting with the National Children’s Bureau in response to our correspondence regarding the NHS 10 Year Plan.
A small delegation of HPIG members, including a representative from the Children and Young People’s Mental Health Coalition and Our Time Charity had an in-person meeting with Minister Merron in January 2026. The Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition presented recommendations from their Future Minds Campaign, while Our Time Charity highlighted the need for whole-family approaches in mental health services. The Minister expressed interest in exploring the embedding of trauma-informed practice across children's services and acknowledged the importance of prioritising whole-family approaches. HPIG will continue to champion these areas in its ongoing engagement with the Department.
Influencing the Neighbourhood Health Guidance
In February 2026, HPIG wrote to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care urging that babies, children and young people be explicitly included as a distinct population group in the forthcoming Neighbourhood Health guidance. The letter, co-signed by Amanda Allard and Phil Anderson and supported by over 30 HPIG member organisations, highlighted the risk that services designed primarily for adults would once again overlook the needs of children and families.
We received a response from Stephen Kinnock MP, Minister of State for Care, confirming the Government's ambition to deliver a neighbourhood health service that serves everybody, including babies, children and young people. The Minister outlined plans for neighbourhood health centres and multidisciplinary teams- including health visitors, community paediatricians and mental health professionals - and acknowledged the importance of linking neighbourhood health with initiatives such as Best Start Family Hubs and the Families First Partnership. We will continue to monitor the guidance as it is published and press for babies, children and young people to be given the prominence they deserve within it.
The Neighbourhood Health Framework, published on the 17th of March 2026, identified children and young people as a priority cohort- a significant outcome that reflects the sustained advocacy of many in the sector, including HPIG and its members. Neighbourhood health colleagues also attended the HPIG meeting in December 2025 and will begin the new financial year by speaking to the group about the new framework and its implications for children's services at the Stakeholder Council meeting on the 1st of April. We will continue to monitor and influence the guidance as it develops to ensure babies, children and young people are given the prominence they deserve within it.
Influencing the Children and Young People’s Modern Service Framework Development
HPIG Co-Chairs sit on the Children and Young People's Modern Service Framework board, directly advising on its development. NHSE has also committed to ongoing engagement with HPIG members through the NHSE Stakeholder Council, ensuring the wider membership has a voice in shaping the framework as it progresses.
Previous highlights
2025
Ten Year Health Plan
As the government embarks on its ambitious programme of reform to the NHS, HPIG is strongly advocating that any health system fit for the future, focused on prevention, must meet the needs of babies, children and young people.
As part of this work, HPIG published its Roadmap for the Healthiest Generation of Children Ever which outlines how the government can improve child health outcomes. We held an engaging workshop in November, where HPIG members presented the findings and recommendations from this Roadmap to officials in the Department for Health and Social Care and NHS England working in child health policy. HPIG will continue to advocate for the needs of children in the forthcoming Ten Year Health Plan.
In December 2024 we responded to the NHS consultation on the Ten Year Health Plan. Find our response here.
2023-2024
HPIG, Integrated Care Systems and the Health and Care Act
HPIG led the children’s sector’s activity on the Health and Care Bill, working with civil servants and parliamentarians to push for a greater focus on babies, children and young people in the legislation and supporting guidance.
Thankfully, following a powerful intervention by members of the House of Lords, the health needs of babies, children and young people were included in the primary legislation and further statutory guidance.
Children and young people are one of only two groups singled out by the primary legislation in this way. We saw a number of other positive changes including new statutory requirements placed on ICBs to nominate an executive children’s lead, consult with local leaders and collaborate with children and families in drafting plans. ICBs are also required to report annually on how well they are delivering their duty to safeguard children.
Integrated Care Systems and the health needs of babies, children and young people – 2024 report
Following the Health and Care Act HPIG worked collectively to assess how the newly formed Integrated Care Systems were meeting their requirements in relation to babies, children and young people.
In January 2024, HPIG published a report that analysed the strategies and plans of 75% of ICSs to evaluate how they had considered the diverse health needs of babies, children and young people. It provided a snapshot of how well the system was enacting its duties, and highlighted examples of effective approaches to formulating strategies and plans as well as areas where significant improvement is needed.
This report was intended as a helpful follow on from the Act and to support the new system.
2024 General Election
HPIG worked with political parties by setting out a bold new vision for child health in the lead up to the General Election. This ensured that HPIG was ready to work with the next Government and that no momentum was lost in developing a health system that meets the needs of babies, children and young people.
Data and information
The Health & Care Act introduced significant improvements to information sharing between health and adult social care. HPIG has been working closely with the Department for Education and the Department for Health and Social Care to ensure that these considerations are also extended to children and young people.
Advocating for a Single Unique Identifier
We have consistently appealed to the government to deliver commitments for a Single Unique Identifier across health and other public services. We are please to have been mentioned in the Department for Education policy paper published in November 2024, "Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive", as a critical group advocating for their proposal to introduce a Single Unique Identifier. We continue to proactively engage with policymakers to ensure this policy change is as effective as possible.
Report on children’s multi-agency information sharing
The Health and Care Act 2022 required a report to be laid before parliament setting out improvements to information sharing in relation to children’s health, social care and safeguarding, and setting out the Government’s policy on a consistent identifier for children.
HPIG has been grateful for the opportunity to engage regularly with the Department for Education and DHSC throughout the report process to highlight that effective information sharing between services is crucial for children’s health and social care as well as prevention and safeguarding.
The Government’s report did not go as far as we had hoped in recognising data and information sharing for all children and young people and not just those at the risk of harm. You can read our public statement here.