First 1001 Days Movement says five-year decline in toddler development is a ticking time bomb for the UK

An incoming Labour government must revive the 1997 spirit of Sure Start and put babies at the heart of policies if it is to achieve its goals, a coalition of charities has said.

The First 1001 Days Movement, a coalition of more than 200 charities and professionals, said a five-year decline in toddler development was a ticking timebomb for the UK, and called for vulnerable babies and their families to be seen as mission critical.

The movement has published an manifesto for babies, which includes an urgent call to the NHS to support 60,000 vulnerable infants over the next five years. It also pleads for a cross-department strategy to combat a development crisis in children, which has resulted in one in four school-starters in England and Wales not being toilet-trained.

We need something of the ambition of Sure Start from Labour, said Keith Reed, the chief executive of the Parent-Infant Foundation. They fought the 1997 election on changing the future for generations of children, and they need to do something that echoes that vision again.