Family hubs to be rolled out across every council in England
The Department for Education is putting £500 million targeted at disadvantaged communities into the scheme, to put a Best Start family hub in every local authority by April 2026.
The Education Secretary has said that the scheme will 'give a lifeline' to families.
Family hubs were originally rolled out across 75 local authorities at the start of 2024 by the then-Conservative government.
Officials say that the hubs will be rolled out in every local authority by April 2026, and there will be expanded so there are up to 1,000 of them 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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Post Office scandal report ‘shows full scale of horror unleashed on victims'
A report into the Post Office Horizon scandal 'shows the full scale of the horror' unleashed on people just trying to do a day's work, a former subpostmistress has said. Jo Hamilton was falsely prosecuted for a shortfall of £36,000 at her Post Office branch in South Warnborough, Hampshire, in 2006. A first tranche of the public inquiry's final report into the scandal, published on Tuesday, laid bare the devastating consequences for victims and their families, from police investigations to convictions and imprisonment. Between 1999 and 2015, approximately 1,000 subpostmasters were prosecuted after faulty Horizon accounting software made it look as though money was missing from their accounts. The report said 59 victims of the scandal contemplated suicide with 10 attempting to take their own lives. Inquiry chairman Sir Wyn Williams said there was a 'real possibility' 13 people took their own lives as a result of the suffering they endured during the scandal. Other details in the report detailed impacts including bankruptcy and relationship breakdowns. Speaking following the report's publication, Ms Hamilton – who was made an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) for services to justice – said it is 'really important'. She added: 'It shows the full scale of the horror that they unleashed on us. You know, we were just decent people trying to do a day's work for our community.' Sir Wyn, who said around 10,000 people are eligible to submit compensation claims, urged the Government to establish a public body to devise, administer and deliver compensation to those wronged by authorities. Ms Hamilton said that was a 'necessary' recommendation which she would like to see implemented immediately. 'The Government shouldn't be anywhere near this because they actually owned the Post Office which perpetrated the crime and they must have been aware what was going on. So I think they should be taken out of it altogether.' Asked about her hopes for the future, she said: 'I have a sneaky feeling that this will run right through next year, because that's the way things are, but I really hope not, because so many people are dying. 'You know, we've lost, I think 350 is the number, and 100 of the GLO (Group Litigation Order) group aren't here any more, and there's still 138 of them to be paid which is incredible.'
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Comedian Andy Hamilton says he is ‘vehemently opposed' to Wimbledon expansion
Comedian and writer Andy Hamilton has said he is 'vehemently opposed' to the expansion of the Wimbledon tennis site, ahead of a legal challenge against the decision to approve the plans being heard at the High Court. Mr Hamilton joined dozens of members of the campaign group Save Wimbledon Park (SWP) in a demonstration outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday, ahead of its legal challenge against the Greater London Authority (GLA). Last year, the GLA – which is defending the legal challenge – approved the All England Club's proposal to build 39 new courts, including an 8,000-seat stadium, on the former Wimbledon Park Golf Club. SWP has said that Wimbledon Park, a Grade II*-listed heritage site, is subject to similar protections as the green belt or royal parks and that allowing development on the site would set a 'dangerous precedent'. Speaking to the PA news agency, Mr Hamilton, who has lived in the Wimbledon Park area for several years, said he was 'vehemently' against the 'absurdly huge' plans. He said: 'They are going to decimate the park, at huge cost to the local environment and the local community.' He continued: 'It's just absurd, the scale of it, and really they float lots of spurious reasons why are they doing it. 'The real reason is the club just wants to triple the size of the current Wimbledon tennis estate so that they can bring in more visitors and make a very rich private members club even richer.' Planning permission for the scheme was granted last year by Jules Pipe, London's deputy mayor for planning, who said that the proposals 'would facilitate very significant benefits' which 'clearly outweigh the harm'. Debbie Jevans, chairwoman of the All England Club, said at the time that the proposals would deliver 27 acres of 'newly accessible parkland for the community', and would allow the qualifying tournament for Wimbledon – currently staged at Roehampton – to be held on-site. A spokesperson for the club said on Tuesday that the plans would 'deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012' and were 'crucial to ensuring Wimbledon remains at the pinnacle of tennis'. Mr Hamilton said: 'They are going to make everyone's lives a misery basically, for 10 years. 'They say 'we need it to stay at the pinnacle of world tennis'. That is nonsense. 'They are at the pinnacle, their place is assured, and the other argument is we don't want the embarrassment of the qualifiers being off-site anymore. 'The reality is, Roehampton is a perfectly good location for the qualifiers, it's just around the corner.' A spokesperson for the All England Club said: 'Our proposals will deliver one of the greatest sporting transformations for London since 2012. 'They are crucial to ensuring Wimbledon remains at the pinnacle of tennis, one of the world's best sporting events, and a global attraction for both London and the UK. 'On offer are substantial year-round benefits for our community and the delivery of significant social, economic, and environmental improvements. 'This includes more than 27 acres of new public parkland on what is currently inaccessible, private land. 'Our plans will increase the size of Wimbledon Park by a third and create spaces for people and nature to thrive. 'There will be a very significant increase in biodiversity across the site and our proposals are underpinned by more than 1,000 hours of ecological surveys, which are endorsed by the London Wildlife Trust.' 'We have spoken to more than 10,000 people as part of our consultation events, and we know that the vast majority of people just want us to get on and deliver the many benefits on offer.' A GLA spokesperson said: 'The Mayor believes this scheme will bring a significant range of benefits, including environmental, economic, social and cultural benefits to the local area, the wider capital and the UK economy. 'It will create new jobs and green spaces and cement Wimbledon's reputation as the greatest tennis competition in the world. 'An application has been made for the court to determine this matter, and it is therefore inappropriate for the Mayor to comment further at this stage.' The hearing before Mr Justice Saini is due to conclude on Wednesday, with a judgment expected in writing at a later date.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Post Office Inquiry to deliver verdict on compensation for victims of one of UK's biggest scandals
The first report into the Post Office Horizon scandal is set to be published, delivering a verdict on the devastating impact on victims and their battle for compensation. Retired judge Sir Wyn Williams will deliver the first part of his findings over overseeing a five-year public inquiry into one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history. More than 900 subpostmasters were wrongfully prosecuted between 1999 and 2015, after being accused of theft, fraud, and false accounting. The fault, however, was with the Post Office's Horizon accounting software which was riddled with bugs and defects that made it appear – wrongly – that money had gone missing. Sir Wyn is set to deliver his findings from The Oval cricket ground on the impact of the scandal on thousands of victims, including 236 who spent time in prison. Some of the accused subpostmasters took their own lives. The retired judge's findings will also examine the compensation scheme for victims, which has come in for heavy criticism over the way it has operated, the money being offered, and the speed of coming to conclusions. Lead campaigner Sir Alan Bates has previously described the complex compensation scheme as akin to 'quasi-kangaroo courts'. Sir Wyn has devoted particular attention to the compensation for victims, and two years ago delivered interim suggestions on how the scheme could be improved. At the time, he described legislative changes made to resolve issues with the redress schemes as 'a patchwork quilt of compensation schemes… with some holes in it'. Tuesday's report is the first part of Sir Wyn's findings, to be followed later in the year or in 2026 with his assessment of the Horizon system itself, actions of senior figures within the Post Office and tech developer Fujitsu, and ultimately who can be held to blame. Sir Wyn will make a public statement following the report's publication at midday. In a previous statement addressing the compensation schemes, the Department for Business and Trade said: 'This Government has quadrupled the total amount paid to affected postmasters to provide them with full and fair redress, with more than £1 billion having now been paid to over 7,300 claimants.'
