By Nadia Arden-Scott & Tanya Marriott
Founders, The Footwear Hub

A major milestone was recently reached for children’s health advocacy as representatives from The Footwear Hub attended a round-table meeting at Westminster, hosted and sponsored by Alex Baker MP.

With over two decades of experience fitting children’s shoes, our passion has always been clear: ensuring every child’s feet are properly cared for as they grow. However, in recent years, we have seen a growing gap in guidance and education for parents when it comes to foot development.

The Problem: A Growing Guidance Gap

Children’s feet continue to form and develop well into their late teens. Wearing incorrectly sized or ill-fitting shoes during these crucial developmental years can lead to long-term physical issues. Unfortunately, the number of local places where parents can have their children’s feet measured and fitted by a specialist has been declining year after year.

Today, most parents are forced to rely on online sizing guides and mail orders simply because in-person expertise is no longer readily available in many communities.

"Shoe fitting is an essential, often overlooked facet of healthcare. After more than 20 years in the field, seeing children's foot health taken seriously at the Parliamentary level means a great deal."

Action at Westminster

The Westminster round-table brought together MPs, podiatrists, academics, and industry experts to address three core questions:

• What is currently happening to children’s foot health across the UK?
• How can the footwear industry better support growing families?
• Where can government policy intervene to raise awareness and standards?

We extend our sincere thanks to Alex Baker MP for sponsoring this vital conversation, as well as attending MPs Sadik Al-Hassan MP and Lee Barron MP, alongside representatives from King’s College, Synergy Physio, and clinical specialists across the UK.

How The Footwear Hub Can Help

To bridge the gap in specialist care, we created The Footwear Hub—a non-profit directory of independent fitting specialists combined with an educational resource hub for parents. Our goal is to ensure every parent, regardless of where they live in the UK, can connect with a qualified local fitting expert.

Get involved & find local support:

• Find a Fitter: Search the UK map of independent specialists at footwearhub.org.
• Join the Conversation: Reach out to support our educational mission for better physical health in young people.

Changes are officially afoot—and we look forward to sharing more updates as our policy recommendations take shape!