SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath MLA has welcomed the Department of Health's refreshed Healthy Child, Healthy Future framework and its focus on the first 1,000 days of a child's life, but warned that unless Executive departments work together, the potential for long-term change will be missed.

Colin McGrath MLA:

"No one can dispute that the first 1,000 days of a child's life are absolutely critical. The Minister is right to recognise the importance of those early years. This framework, with its emphasis on early intervention, is a positive step and something that should be built upon.

"But the truth is simple, children don't grow up in departmental boxes. Their health is shaped not just by what happens in clinics and hospitals, but by the quality of childcare they can access, the strength of early years education, the stability of housing, and the support networks available to their families.

"If we are serious about giving every child the best start, this cannot be left to the Department of Health alone. It requires a joined-up approach across Health, Education, Communities and Finance. Yet too often we see departments working in silos, and it is children and families who pay the price.

"The SDLP will continue to press for a government that does more than talk about cross-cutting solutions, but actually delivers them. Children here deserve more than warm words, they deserve action, and they deserve an Executive that puts their well-being first."