Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to embed a focus on (a) antenatal and (b) prenatal support for parents in the delivery of new Best Start Family Hubs.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life, the chance to achieve and to thrive, are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

As set out in the Best Start in Life (BSIL) Strategy, Best Start Family Hubs will bring together professionals from health and education, with a continued focus on the 1001 critical days from conception to age 2.

The BSIL strategy makes it clear that the integration of health services within Best Start Family Hubs is critical to raising the healthiest generation of children ever, and to ensuring that every child has a happy, heathy start to life. Additionally, it commits the government to strengthening health services in early childhood, improving maternity and newborn care, strengthening health visiting services, making it easier to get vaccinated, supporting healthy eating, tackling tooth decay and giving parents and health professionals easier access to child health information.