Family hubs to open in every council in England

Family hubs offering parenting support and youth services will be rolled out across every local authority in England, the government has announced.

The £500 million plan aims to support 500,000 more children in the most disadvantaged areas.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the “Best Start” family hubs would “give a lifeline” to families.

The Conservatives said there was “little clarity on what’s genuinely new and what simply rebrands existing services”.

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.”