Family hubs to open in every council in England
The idea of a family hub dates back to the early 2000s when New Labour introduced "Sure Start" centres - focused on supporting young families with early education, childcare and health advice. Many closed after 2010 when funding was cut by the Tories. But last year the Conservative government under Rishi Sunak rolled out 400 new "family hubs" offering a wider range of services across 75 local authorities. Now Labour say the hubs will be in every local authority by April 2026, before expanding them to up to 1,000 by the end of 2028. They will offer services ranging from birth registration and midwifery support to debt advice and youth clubs. Officials hope the spaces will also provide families access to other services and social care.Ms 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."Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott said the lack of clarity about what was actually new was "part of a wider pattern"."This is a government defined by broken promises and endless U-turns," she added.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: "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."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
11 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Phillipson sparks row over two-child benefit cap
Bridget Phillipson has sparked a fresh Labour row over the two-child benefit cap. The Education Secretary faced a backlash after declaring that the Government's benefits climbdown last week would make it harder to abolish the two-child limit. But Labour MPs who led the welfare revolt and Jeremy Corbyn, Sir Keir Starmer's predecessor, issued fresh calls on Sunday to abolish the 'cruel and immoral' policy. The backbench rebellion on welfare forced Sir Keir to tear up his plans to reform disability benefits, wiping out an estimated £5 billion in savings. Ms Phillipson insisted there was now less scope to abandon the two-child cap, which restricts child tax credit and Universal Credit to two children in most households. She told Sky's Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: 'It does come at a cost, and that's why, in keeping with our fiscal rules, we do need to make sure that we have a strong foundation for the economy. 'We make sure we get this right. These ultimately will be matters that the Chancellor has to consider right across the board.' Pressed on whether the chances of the cap being lifted were lower because there was now less money, Ms Phillipson said: 'The decisions that have been taken this last week do make future decisions harder. 'But all of that said, we will look at this collectively in terms of all of the ways that we can lift children out of poverty.' Sir Keir endured the biggest rebellion of his premiership to date last Tuesday as 49 Labour MPs voted against his welfare Bill despite a string of major last-minute concessions. Out of those rebels, more than one third have also signalled their opposition to the two-child benefit cap since Labour took power. Mr Corbyn currently sits as an independent MP but last week announced his involvement in a new hard-Left party alongside Zarah Sultana, a fellow independent, which fight Labour nationally. Responding to Ms Phillipson's remarks, Mr Corbyn told The Telegraph: 'The two child benefit cap is cruel and immoral. The government should have scrapped this cap the minute it was elected. 'For it to double-down now one year later, all because it couldn't take enough support away from disabled people, is disgraceful. 'Keeping children in poverty is not a tough choice – it's the wrong choice.' The two Labour backbench MPs who masterminded the welfare rebellion also called on the Prime Minister to change course and scrap the cap. Rachael Maskell, who tabled an amendment backed by dozens of Labour MPs that sought to kill the Bill altogether, said it was 'crucial' that no child was denied opportunity. 'It's got to be an absolute focus of this government to lift as many children out of poverty as possible,' Ms Maskell said. 'Slowing the pace of that ambition is not acceptable and therefore starting by ending the two-child limit, as well as the benefit cap, is really important. 'It's absolutely crucial that the government does not waver on this issue, that it finds the expectation of what a Labour Government should do and finds the resource to be able to deliver that.' Neil Duncan-Jordan, whose open letter denouncing the cuts was signed by 42 Labour MPs back in May, told Sir Keir to make child poverty a key priority during his second year in power. He told The Telegraph: 'Whilst not the only lever to pull, lifting the two-child benefit cap is widely acknowledged as the quickest way to lift the largest number of children out of poverty. 'It doesn't fix the problem, but it is an essential part of what needs to happen if we are serious about tackling child poverty.' Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, added that 'of course' the limit should be scrapped. He said: 'If this Labour Government is to rebuild the country, it must start with the scourge of poverty – in all its forms. There can be no credible definition of success that does not include its eradication as a central goal.' Jon Trickett, another prominent Left-wing Labour MP, added: 'It is wrong to keep children in poverty because we are protecting disability benefits. Dividing the poor against each other whilst protecting wealth is entirely wrong.' John McDonnell, who was Mr Corbyn's shadow chancellor and has also been stripped of the Labour whip, condemned briefings over the weekend which suggested that plans to scrap the cap were 'dead in the water'. 'The idea that scrapping the two-child limit is to be some sort of punishment beating of the PLP for voting against disability benefit cuts is disgusting,' he wrote on X. The Child Poverty Action Group has said the number of children in poverty will jump from 4.5 million currently to 4.8 million by 2029 unless Sir Keir takes action. While the two-child limit applies across the UK, the Scottish government confirmed it will provide funding to essentially scrap the policy north of the border from March 2026.
The Guardian
33 minutes ago
- The Guardian
One year of Labour - Politics Weekly live at Crossed Wires festival
One year on from Keir Starmer's election victory and Labour are well behind Reform in the polls, while the government is already having to bend to the will of its backbenchers. So how can Starmer recover? Kiran Stacey talks to Jonathan Ashworth, the chief executive of Labour Together and former MP for Leicester South, and Marie Tidball, the Labour MP for Penistone and Stocksbridge, about the party's first year in government, live at the Crossed Wires podcast festival in Sheffield
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Dining across the divide: ‘He was a 'Stop the boats' person'
Occupation Account director in the IT sector Voting record Conservative, but in the last election he protest-voted for Reform Amuse bouche He's a huge Metallica fan, and will be seeing them next year for the 25th time Occupation Financial services technician Voting record Always Labour until the last election, when he voted Green Amuse bouche After dancing in seven consecutive national ballroom dancing finals, he's just retired, because he is, in ballroom dancing terms, a senior Sam We immediately started chatting about music, and got on really well. Matt He was a really likable chap, very open and conversational, like myself. Sam I've been to the restaurant before, and I've spent the last two years telling everyone about the beef dripping flatbread with massive salt crystals. We also had beetroot in a creamy foam and herb oil, a cuttlefish risotto and a very lemony skate on crushed potatoes. It was excellent. Matt I had a grapefruit sorbet for dessert – amazing! Sam had red wine, which I'd have loved, but I've just come out of cancer treatment, so I had a Coke. Matt We talked about public spending. I think we need to shrink welfare – but in a controlled manner that benefits people and gets them back into work. Sam I'd like to see more investment in the state, funded by a tax on absolutely everyone. If we had proper housing, social care and mental health structures in place, it would reduce demand on things like the NHS. Matt We should strip all the bureaucracy out of the NHS and reinvest in medical practitioners. Sam said that's already happening with Labour scrapping NHS England. But my understanding is that, while the organisation is being abolished, nobody's being made redundant. They're all being redeployed into other parts of government. So it won't free up money for reinvestment. Sam I don't think Matt was too far from my perspective. He's had a lot of contact with the NHS recently and felt there was a lot of bureaucracy that could be cut down. But when I said I'm in favour of nationalising natural monopolies like water, he largely seemed to agree. Sign up to Inside Saturday The only way to get a look behind the scenes of the Saturday magazine. Sign up to get the inside story from our top writers as well as all the must-read articles and columns, delivered to your inbox every weekend. after newsletter promotion Matt I think big tech is a force for good. If you're a researcher looking for cures for cancer and it gives you quicker access to information from a multitude of sources, surely we get better results quicker? AI worries people, because we hear it's going to automate and take everybody's jobs, but it's just rules-based processing and straightforward algorithms piecing together information that's already out there. People think it's intelligent enough to self-learn. I haven't seen any evidence of that. Sam I fully agree that technology can be a force for good. But I don't think companies like Meta and Google have our best interests at heart. We've seen that with electioneering and the way they manipulate people's data to target them. We agreed technology is neutral, but once you put it into humanity's hands, it's not necessarily going to have a positive outcome. Sam He was a 'Stop the boats' person. From a humane standpoint I agree: I don't want people coming across the Channel. I know once upon a time if you were seeking asylum you could turn up at an embassy. Matt thought that was a good idea, but the problem is that embassies have been whittled down to very few. To me, safe routes are the answer. Matt As one of the top countries in the world, we have a right and a duty to take care of people who are coming to the UK because they're at risk of harm, but I think we've got to get quicker at identifying those who are at risk, and then dealing with those who aren't by processing them quicker, and returning them to their rightful abode. Sam The world would be a better place if we could all have a chat. On the internet we seem to have a desire to antagonise, but in person you generally find the points on which you agree rather than differ. Matt At the end of dinner, our conclusion was that there wasn't a river dividing us. It was more of a stream, a trickle. When you sit down and talk to someone from supposedly the opposite side of the fence, the division isn't as big as you think. Additional reporting: Kitty Drake Matt and Sam ate at Erst in Manchester Want to meet someone from across the divide? Find out how to take part
