A previous Health and Social Care Committee on the topic found significant variation in the provision of support to parents and families in the first 1,000 days.

MPs on the cross-party Committee, chaired by Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, have chosen to revisit the subject now, in the context of the Government making ‘breaking down barriers to opportunity' one of its six missions within its Plan for Change and including a commitment to ‘set every child up for the best start in life'.

The new inquiry will be an opportunity for MPs to investigate whether progress has been made on outcomes for children and young people since 2019, examining how effective Family Hubs and the introduction of ICSs have been in improving outcomes.

The Committee will probe what the barriers are to delivering high-quality early years services, particularly in Family Hubs and through neonatal and paediatric services, and how these barriers can be addressed.

The inquiry will also examine how the Government can most effectively tackle disparities in infant health outcomes, including disparities in outcomes for disabled children.

MPs will also look ahead, to consider what the Government should prioritise in upcoming funding allocations for early years services.

The new inquiry will consider the principle of ‘proportionate universalism', an approach that means that services are available to all but are targeted in proportion to the level of need.

Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, Layla Moran, said:  ‘It is the importance of this short but critical time in a child's life that is the reason why our committee has chosen to focus our attention on it in our new inquiry. We want to renew political focus on this vital period in a child's life.

‘We will assess whether the landscape has changed since a previous committee reported on the topic in 2019 and will look at the current situation facing new parents and children's early years. As part of our inquiry, we will be looking into variations in provision for infant health and will delve into the inequalities that exist.'

She added: ‘We are today launching a call for evidence to hear from parents, early years practitioners, health professionals, local government, charities and other stakeholders on a range of questions which will inform practical recommendations we make to the Government on how to improve outcomes for children and give every child the best start in life.'