The Department of Health (DoH) in Northern Ireland sets the strategic direction and policy framework for health and social care services, including health visiting.
Key policy documents are:
Healthy Child Healthy Future Framework: a Framework for the Universal Child Health promotion Programme in Northern Ireland (published 25 September 2025). The Framework provides a comprehensive national policy blueprint, laying out a bold vision for improving child health outcomes across the region. The refresh of the Healthy Child, Healthy Future (HCHF) Framework was widely welcomed as an important signal of Northern Ireland’s serious commitment to its babies, children and young people, supporting them to lay the foundations for lifelong health and wellbeing. Built on the best global evidence of ‘what works’, the framework is underpinned by 9 principles to support a ‘whole child’ approach and details the universal services to be offered to all babies, children and young people (aged 0-19 years) and their families.
The Department of Health’s Live Better Initiative focuses on key health outcomes under three core stages of the life course: Starting Well, Living Well and Ageing Well.
Programme for Government 2024-2027 ‘Our Plan: Doing What Matters Most’: Outlines priorities for making a real difference to the lives of people in Northern Ireland (including priorities for children and young people, the health services and transformation of public services). Relevant documents include the Wellbeing Framework, Consultation Report and Impact Assessments.
Children and Young People’s Strategy 2020-2020. This Strategy, published by Northern Ireland’s Department of Education in January 2021, sets out plans to improve the wellbeing of children and young people, and takes account of the pandemic’s far-reaching impacts on children. The Strategy sets out the outcomes it aims to achieve, specific issues affecting children which have been identified as requiring particular focus, and evidence drawn from detailed consultation.
Health and Wellbeing 2026: Delivering Together provides a ten-year road map for the transformation of Health and Social Care (HSC) services in Northern Ireland, with the ambition of enabling people to lead long, healthy and active lives. Four key aims underpin this ambition.
- Improving the health of our people
- Supporting and empowering staff
- Improving the quality and experience of care
- Ensuring the sustainability of our service.
Making Life Better – Strategic Framework for Public Health, designed to provide direction for policies and actions to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Northern Ireland and to reduce health inequalities.
The Safeguarding Board for Northern Ireland ensures that there are no barriers to protecting children and young people in Northern Ireland – see website for resources.
Regional Perinatal Mental Health Care Pathways (published March 2025). An integrated pathway of care for women with perinatal mental health problems. It provides guidance to all health and social care professionals who come into contact with women in the antenatal and postnatal period across all settings, inclusive of primary care.
A Life Deserved – A Strategy for Looked After Children (last updated June 2022). The strategy aims to improve the wellbeing of children and young people who are already in care, at risk of entering care, and those children and young people who have recently left care.
Children’s Services Co-operation Act (Northern Ireland) 2015: To improve the wellbeing of children through cooperation amongst Departments and Agencies, placing a duty on Children’s Authorities, as defined by the Act, to cooperate.