The government has announced plans to extend family hubs, offering parenting support and youth services, to every local authority across England.
The £500 million initiative aims to provide support to an additional 500,000 children in the most disadvantaged communities.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson stated that these “Best Start” family hubs would serve as a “lifeline” for families.
However, the Conservatives have expressed concerns, suggesting there is “little clarity on what’s genuinely new and what simply rebrands existing services”.
The concept of family hubs dates back to the early 2000s with New Labour’s “Sure Start” centres, which focused on providing early education, childcare, and health advice to young families.
Following funding cuts by the Conservatives after 2010, many of these centers were closed. However, in the past year, the Conservative government under Rishi Sunak introduced 400 new “family hubs” across 75 local authorities, offering a broader range of services.
Labour now plans to establish these hubs in every local authority by April 2026, with the intention of expanding to up to 1,000 by the end of 2028.
When questioned by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg about whether these plans merely continue a Conservative policy, Phillipson asserted that the Labour government was “going further” than the Conservatives and “revitalising family services”.
The hubs will provide a range of services, including birth registration, midwifery support, debt advice, and youth clubs.
Officials hope that these spaces will also facilitate families’ access to other services and social care.
Phillipson stated, “It’s the driving mission of this government to break the link between a child’s background and what they go on to achieve – our new ‘Best Start’ family hubs will put the first building blocks of better life chances in place for more children.”
Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott has criticised the plans, stating that the lack of clarity regarding what is genuinely new is “part of a wider pattern.”
She added, “This is a government defined by broken promises and endless U-turns.”
Save The Children, a prominent charity, has expressed its “pleasure” in seeing the government “making it easier for families to get the help they need.”
Dan Paskins, Executive Director of Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns at Save The Children UK, said: “We know from our work in local communities that bringing together parenting, healthcare and education support services in one place is an approach which works, so we are pleased to see the UK government making it easier for families to get the help they need.”
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