The local areas, which are spread throughout England, have been chosen based on factors such as their level of deprivation.
They include areas, such as North Lincolnshire, Kingston upon Hull, Sheffield, Manchester, East Sussex, Norfolk, Bristol, Cornwall, and several London boroughs (full list below).
The Government envisions family hubs as centres of advice for parents on how to care for their child, keep them safe and healthy and provide services including parenting and breastfeeding support.
The DfE said that announcing the 75 local authorities eligible for funding was ‘only the first step’ in delivering the family hubs and Start for Life programme, and that it would work with these areas on the detailed programme requirements, providing more details to the sector 'in due course'.
Ministers said that thousands of babies, children and families would benefit from a multi-million-pound package which would improve access to support, advice and services from birth through to adulthood.
The £302m Family Hubs and Start for Life programme includes £82m to create a network of family hubs, improving access to a wide range of integrated support services for families with children aged 0-19.
The funding was previously set out in the autumn budget.
The family hubs and Start for Life programme is jointly overseen by the Department for Health and Social Care and the Department of Education.
It said it was announcing wide-ranging support across its flagship family programmes for those who need extra help to fulfil their potential, levelling up opportunities for children across the country.
The DfE said that the expanded family hubs, supporting families, and holiday activities food programmes will be backed by over £1 billion in funding.
This includes:
- £700m for the Supporting Families programme for 300,000 of the most vulnerable families, who will receive help from a dedicated keyworker to offer practical assistance, such as parenting support.
- £100m to support children in the early years, which will be shared among eligible areas to roll out bespoke parent-infant relationship and perinatal mental health support.
- £10m to enable five local authorities to trial and evaluate ‘innovative workforce models’ to support babies and families. The DfE said more information would be available ‘in due course’.
- £172m will go towards care leavers to help them access practical advice on housing, finance and employment.
The DfE said that early intervention helps to improve children’s mental health and life outcomes, which is why this investment is an important step to better support the first few years of a child’s life.
Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said, ‘If we are to level up outcomes for children facing the biggest challenges, this needs to start at home. Being part of a stable, loving family gives a child an early advantage, which is why we are investing so significantly in helping every family to access the vital services that help them and their children thrive.
‘Evidence shows that some of the most disadvantaged families don’t access vital services. Family Hubs offer localised early help and intervention, from early years support to parenting classes, all of which can make a transformative difference in the lives of parents and carers who may not have a support network.’
Minister for health, Maria Caulfield, said, ‘I’m committed to ensuring every child has the best start in life to enable them to reach their full potential - that’s why we’re Building Back Fairer and ensuring 75 local authorities with disproportionately poor health and educational outcomes will be eligible for additional funding to support families earlier and offer specialised help locally.
‘Everyone should have a solid foundation on which to build their health and we are determined to tackle health disparities by levelling up the opportunities for children, no matter their background or where they grow up.’
Government advisor and chair of the Early Years Review, Dame Andrea Leadsom said, ‘It is during the 1001 critical days from conception to age two that the building blocks for lifelong emotional and physical health are laid down. Providing joined up support for every parent and carer will be truly transformational in helping every baby get the best start for life.’
Andrea King, director of Clinical Division, Anna Freud Centre, said, ‘We warmly welcome the additional investment from the Government into the continuing implementation of family hubs across England. It will provide much needed funds to support local children’s services leaders to collaborate and co-design support for some of our most vulnerable children and families, through the delivery of family hubs.
‘By working within communities and alongside children’s services, family hubs are able to deliver early intervention and support services when the need arises. This funding will provide thousands of children and young people with more opportunity to fulfil their potential.’
Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said, ‘There is widespread agreement that intervention in the early years is one of the best ways to support vulnerable children, but a lack of capacity in the system means that all too often that support is not available. This investment into family hubs is welcome and we hope that the Government will invest more in this area in the future. It is important that every child and family in the country that would benefit from this sort of early support is able to access it.’
The 75 LAs eligible for funding are: Barking and Dagenham, Barnsley, Bedford Borough, Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bradford, Brent, Bristol, Calderdale, Camden, Cornwall, Coventry, Croydon, Derby, Doncaster, Dudley, Durham, East Sussex, Enfield, Gateshead, Greenwich, Hackney, Halton, Haringey, Hartlepool, Hounslow, Isle of Wight, Islington, Kent, Kingston Upon Hull, Knowsley, Lambeth, Leicester, Lewisham, Lincolnshire, Liverpool, Luton, Manchester, Medway, Middlesbrough, Newcastle upon Tyne, Newham, Norfolk, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottingham, Oldham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Redcar and Cleveland, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sheffield, South Tyneside, Southampton, Southwark, St. Helens, Stoke-on-Trent, Sunderland, Tameside, Telford and Wrekin, Thurrock, Torbay, Tower Hamlets, Wakefield, Walsall, Waltham Forest, Wolverhampton.
The Family Hubs – Growing Up Well project is part of the Government’s commitment to champion family hubs.
To this end, the DfE is seeking to recruit up to six local authorities to partner with them on two information sharing solutions: a directory of professionals and a digital referral service. (More information can be found here.)
- Read our interview with Andrea Leadsom in next month’s issue of Nursery World (May).
