Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what progress her Department has made with Cabinet colleagues on rolling out the Family Hubs programme.

On 9 February 2023, the government announced a number of updates which demonstrate positive progress in delivering the manifesto commitment to champion family hubs and their continued commitment to ensure every baby has the best start in life. The announcement included:

• Publication of a progress report on delivering the government’s Best Start for Life vision, written in consultation with Dame Andrea Leadsom MP in her capacity as the government’s early years adviser. This can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-best-start-for-life-a-vision-for-the-1001-critical-days.
• The extension of Dame Andrea Leadsom’s term as the government’s early years adviser.
• Confirmation that all 75 eligible local authorities have successfully signed up to the £300 million Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.
• The names of local authorities which have been successful in their bid to become trailblazers, leading the way on ambitious programme delivery and supporting other areas with their expertise.
• Publication of guidance for local authorities on publishing ‘Start for Life Offers’ and setting up Parent and Carer Panels, both form part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme.
• The names of the final five local authorities enrolled on the £12 million Family Hubs Transformation Fund, building on the seven local authorities that were announced in May 2022.

An additional £28 million has also been made available to the 75 local authorities to improve children's home learning environments, helping them to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thousands-of-families-to-benefit-from-local-support-in-rollout-of-family-hubs.

Thousands of parents and carers across England will be able to access local, co-ordinated support and advice in raising a family, through the 75 upper tier local authorities that have received investment from the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.

The 75 upper tier local authorities who are eligible for this Family Hubs and Start for Life funding were announced on 2 April 2022. The Programme Guide and sign up process was launched in August 2022 and all 75 local authorities have now signed up to the programme. We are now working with local authorities on their delivery plans.

Local authorities will be expected to open family hubs in the first half of 2023 and meet programme expectations by the end of March 2025.