The Indicative Health Visitor Collection (IHVC) was set up to support the government's commitment to increase the number of Health Visitors by 4,200 FTE to 12,292 FTE by March 2015, from a baseline of 8,092 FTE in 2010.

In order to understand progress against this commitment, two data collections have been established to monitor Health Visitor workforce data:

• The Minimum Data Set (HV MDS) is the official collection of Health Visitor workforce data. The HV MDS is published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) and it is the official source of Health Visitor workforce data
• HV MDS data undergoes a three-month validation and quality assurance process before publication
• In parallel, the Indicative Health Visitor Collection has been collected on a monthly basis since April 2014 to provide a more real-time view of the Health Visitor workforce
• IHVC data is published within the month of data being submitted by NHS Providers to NHS England regional teams
• The IHVC should be taken as indicative of the current Health Visitor workforce
• The IHVC is therefore management information only, and the HV MDS remains the official data set

Data for the IHVC will be published by NHS England on a monthly basis until October 2015, when commissioning responsibilities transfer to Local Authorities.