A Bill to make provision for and in connection with the making available of information about support available for infants, parents and carers of infants, and prospective parents and carers, including reporting requirements relating to such support; and for connected purposes.
House of Lords
6 May 2026
May contain errors — check source documents for definitive information.
This bill would require English local authorities to publish a Start for Life offer online, detailing core services for infants and parents and to keep it up to date. It would also require the government to publish an annual report on available infant and family support and provide guidance on how to implement the duties. The aim is to help prospective parents and carers find information easily, with data protection safeguards; the measure mainly applies to England, with some notes about England and Wales.
Originating in the Lords, the bill progressed through Lords stages, including a discharge of the Order of Commitment in October 2024 and a Lords 3rd reading in November 2024, before moving to the Commons, where it had its 1st reading in November 2024 and is currently at the 2nd reading in the Commons.
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The 2024-2026 session of Parliament has come to an end so the House of Commons is now prorogued until the next session begins on 13 May 2026. Prorogation is the formal end to the parliamentary year.
This Bill will therefore make no further progress.
The Bill would require English local authorities to publish a Start for Life offer on their websites, detailing core infant-related services (maternity services; health visiting for prospective parents and for parents/carers of infants; services promoting positive parent–infant relationships; mental health services; breastfeeding and other infant feeding services) and to keep this information up to date, plus include other suitable services as they see fit. It would also require the Government to publish an annual, publicly accessible report on the support available for infants and their families, and to provide guidance to authorities on implementing the duty. The measures apply in England (with some territorial notes about England and Wales), and come with data-protection protections and modest costs to local authorities and government.
The Bill would require English local authorities to publish and keep up-to-date a 'Start for Life' offer online (and by other appropriate means) describing services for infants and parents—such as maternity care, health visiting, early relationships, infant feeding and mental health support—and to promote it to parents and prospective parents. It also sets out a regulatory framework with guidance from the Secretary of State and regulations by statutory instrument for implementing the duties, plus an annual government report on available support for infants and carers; and it applies to England and Wales with data-protection protections in mind.
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
