In 2014, outreach arrangements were introduced in response to concerns that basing entitlement to the service on a family’s postcode was resulting in the exclusion of many children who were in greatest need of support. The outreach aspect of the programme was created to enable local authorities to deliver the four core elements of Flying Start to a small percentage of their population living outside designated Flying Start areas.

We chose to undertake a focused inquiry on the outreach element of Flying Start last year because respondents to our 2016 consultation on the first 1,000 days of a child’s life highlighted concerns about the programme’s reach. Whilst they supported the aims of Flying Start, they were concerned that the geographical targeting of the programme had the potential to create further inequality, by excluding a significant number of children living in poverty. In light of this, we agreed to take evidence on how effective the existing outreach work is and whether the programme should be developed to increase its reach. I would like to take this opportunity to put on record my thanks to all those who contributed written and oral evidence to this important piece of work, and to recognise the hard work of all the dedicated staff delivering Flying Start services across Wales.

So, turning to the detail of our report, we wanted to establish to what extent local authorities were using the outreach option to support children outside Flying Start areas who would benefit from its services. While we found that local authorities were making use of this flexibility to reach children outside the areas, we were disappointed to discover how limited capacity was. Betsi Cadwaladr health board highlighted that, in some counties, as few as five children would be in receipt of these outreach services due to financial constraints.

We were pleased that the light we shone on the issue of limited outreach capacity led to an increase in the flexibility to allocate funding to outreach services. During the course of our inquiry, the Minister announced that local government would be able to spend up to an additional £2.84 million on outreach with immediate effect, the equivalent of 5 per cent of the annual Flying Start budget. Nevertheless, as a committee, we remain to be convinced that 5 per cent flexibility is sufficient. With the majority of children living in poverty falling outside defined Flying Start areas, we recommended that the Minister consider extending the outreach funding flexibility beyond the 5 per cent to allow the programme to reach those most in need.

We welcome the Welsh Government’s confirmation in its response to our report that it will explore with local authorities the full implications of any further funding flexibility. We also recognise the benefits associated with geographically based programmes, not least reduction of stigma, increased socialisation and the creation of a sense of community among participants. However, it remains a matter of concern to us that, according to Public Health Wales, nearly two thirds of people who are income deprived live outside geographical areas that are defined as deprived. As such, I would welcome further detail from the Minister on the nature of the work being undertaken to assess the suitability of the 5 per cent cap in advance of the next draft budget. I would also welcome more information about the consideration he is giving to the rights of those children unable to access either Flying Start or the childcare offer if they live outside the relevant postcode area and have parents who do not work.

As a committee, we recognise that good scrutiny involves not only considering how much resource is available for a piece of work, but what effect that resource has once it is in place. To that end, we considered the work undertaken to assess the impact of the £600 million invested in Flying Start since 2007. What we found can be summarised in three key points. First, there has been extensive evaluation of Flying Start, but not specifically in relation to the outreach element. Secondly, there is a lack of data about take-up of each of the services within the Flying Start programme. Thirdly, the nature of outcomes expected from a programme like Flying Start is not easily quantifiable. They are, by their nature, longer term and difficult to isolate from other services and support provided.

The evidence we received suggested to us that more needs to be done to demonstrate the benefits of the programme. While we acknowledge information provided by stakeholders about the progress made by children who've received Flying Start support, and the fact that the programme is valued by those who are able to access it, many Government-commissioned evaluations struggle to provide empirical evidence of impact. With such a significant amount of investment made in Flying Start, we are keen to see clear evidence of its effect. While we welcome the Welsh Government’s assurances that it is looking at different ways to show the direct improvements Flying Start is making, we are keen to ensure that this work is monitored closely. We believe that this is particularly important given the large amount of money invested in this annually, with just under £80 million allocated in this financial year alone.

We are pleased that the Welsh Government has now asked local authorities to develop and collect, as part of a pilot, a consistent set of data about Flying Start children. Furthermore, we are pleased that this pilot will include the collection of data about whether children are receiving support via outreach Flying Start services or within a postcode area. We also welcome the Government’s acceptance of our request for regular updates to be provided on the data and evaluation strengthening work currently under way. We are, however, disappointed by the rejection of recommendation 6, and remain concerned that data on outreach is not collected at an all-Wales level. We believe this needs to be addressed if value for money and impact are to be comprehensively assessed, and urge the Welsh Government to reconsider this.

We welcome the Welsh Government’s agreement to provide the update requested in recommendation 7. We believe it is important for the Welsh Government to illustrate how it has monitored and reviewed the effectiveness of front-line Flying Start services, the reach of the outreach element of those services, and the availability of staff to support the programme. The last of these points is particularly important given the evidence we received about difficulties recruiting health visitors into the Flying Start scheme. We were told that this is particularly acute due to grant-based—and therefore short-term—Flying Start contracts struggling to compete with the more stable contracts offered by programmes such as Healthy Start Wales.

As with a number of the other inquiries we have undertaken during this Assembly, we are committed to returning to our findings before the next election. In our report, we commit to revisiting our inquiry in a year’s time. Our aim in undertaking this follow-up work is: to consider the evaluation and data collection processes emerging from the Welsh Government’s work in this area; to assess whether the recent revisions to outreach funding allocation are being used, where they are being used, and whether they are having a positive effect on front-line services and their reach; to reflect on whether the programme as currently structured remains appropriate in terms of overall funding allocation, services provided and criteria for entitlements; and to consider the outlook for health visitor recruitment, given concerns about capacity.

I look forward to hearing the Minister and other Members’ views on this important topic, and would like to close my opening remarks by thanking committee members for their contribution to this inquiry and their commitment to following up on the implementation of our recommendations. Thank you.