Family hubs offering parenting support and youth services are set to be rolled out across every council in England, ministers have announced.
The Department for Education is investing £500 million, targeting disadvantaged communities, to establish a ‘Best Start’ family hub in every local authority by April 2026. The Education Secretary said the scheme would “give a lifeline” to families.
This nationwide expansion follows an initial rollout to 75 local authorities in early 2024. Officials anticipate the network will grow to include up to 1,000 hubs by the end of 2028.
Among the services available at the locations will be birth registration, debt advice, midwifery services and support for parents who are separating or have separated.
Officials hope that the spaces will also provide families access to other services and social care.
Bridget Phillipson said: “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.
“I saw firsthand how initiatives like Sure Start helped level the playing field in my own community, transforming the lives of children by putting in place family support in the earliest years of life, and as part of our plan for change, we’re building on its legacy for the next generation of children.
“Making sure hard-working parents are able to benefit from more early help is a promise made, and promise kept – delivering a lifeline of consistent support across the nation, ensuring health, social care and education work in unison to ensure all children get the very best start in life.”
The Conservatives have said that the announcement “brings little clarity on what’s genuinely new and what simply rebrands existing services”.
Shadow education secretary Laura Trott said: “That lack of clarity is part of a wider pattern.
“This is a Government defined by broken promises and endless U-turns.”
Charity Save The Children has said it is “pleased” to see 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: “Focusing on family services for the under-fives will be vital in securing better outcomes for children, and we welcome the Best Start In Life announcement.
“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.
“With ministers now demonstrating an increasingly ambitious plan for children in the UK, we hope this drive for change continues when the child poverty strategy is released in autumn.
“This must include scrapping the two-child limit to Universal Credit, which is the only meaningful way to reduce the UK’s record child poverty rate.”
The head of the NAHT union welcomed the move.
General secretary Paul Whiteman said: “This is a positive step forward towards ensuring all children get the best start – and we are pleased to see tangible investment following this week’s announcement of new targets for school readiness.”
