Oral Answers to Questions

Laura Kyrke-Smith Excerpts

Monday 20th April 2026 Commons Chamber

[Perran Moon (Camborne and Redruth) (Lab)]

2. What steps she is taking to roll out Best Start family hubs.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith (Aylesbury) (Lab)]

11. What progress her Department has made on the roll-out of Best Start family hubs.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Education (Olivia Bailey)]

This Government are opening thousands of Best Start family hubs and network sites in every part of England, building on our proud legacy of Sure Start, providing families with community and connection, and ensuring that every child is supported to get ready for school. The Conservative party eroded support for families; we are bringing it back.

[Olivia Bailey]

I thank my hon. Friend for all that he has done to support family hubs in his constituency and across Cornwall. Yes, we have asked local authorities to ensure that 70% of hubs are in the most deprived areas, so that support gets to the families and communities under the greatest pressure. What a contrast with the Conservatives: on their watch, pressure on families grew while support shrank.

[Laura Kyrke-Smith]

I welcome the Government’s ambitious roll-out of Best Start family hubs, and I am thrilled that Elmhurst family centre in Aylesbury has been selected as Buckinghamshire’s first family hub—something for which I have been proudly campaigning. Will the Minister set out how that programme will make a difference to families in Aylesbury, including on a matter close to my heart, namely the mental health and wellbeing, and the social connection of parents of young kids and their families?