Breastfeeding support

1. Did the council commission a breastfeeding support service (including peer support) in the years 2014-2019? If so, please supply details, including budget (per year) and number of service users accessing the service for each of the years 2014-2019. Please attach a copy of the most recent service specification.

Devon County Council (DCC) commissioned a specialist breastfeeding support service through its Public Health Nursing service for the whole of this period; this consisted of a varying number of part-time Special Interest Health Visitors working with a Specialist Infant Feeding service across the county. From 2014 to March 2018, DCC also commissioned a universal breastfeeding support service through its Children’s Centre contracts with a variety of providers. The Children’s Centres ran weekly breast feeding groups facilitated in some instances by a Children’s Centre worker. However, these changed in 2017 to be primarily peer led by parents using the children’s centre as a place to meet. It is not possible to provide the annual budget or numbers accessing these elements of either service as our records do not hold that level of detail and we therefore do not hold this information.

2. If breastfeeding support was not directly commissioned, did the council provide funding for breastfeeding support in the years 2014-2019. If so who provided the service (eg health visiting /midwifery) and please supply details, including budget (per year) and number of service users accessing the service for each of the years 2014-2019.

Devon County Council did not provide any other form of funding for breastfeeding support during this period and we therefore do not hold this information.

3. If the council did not commission a breastfeeding support service, did it fund breastfeeding support from lay breastfeeding supporters (non-health professionals), for example from professional breastfeeding counsellors, in the years 2014-2019? Please supply details, including budget (per year) and number of service users accessing the service for each of the years 2014-2019.

DCC did not provide any funding of this sort during the years 2014-19 and we therefore do not hold this information.