More parents can save hundreds of pounds through free services, as over 200 Best Start Family Hubs open nationwide this week, helping with the cost of living.
Families in Lancaster and Wyre will be able to save money on services including free stay and play sessions for babies and young children, as Cat Smith MP’s campaign secures the return of Sure Start-style services to their constituency, with a Best Start Family Hubs to open in Skerton and help local families with the cost of living.
Lancaster and Wyre’s parents will be able to access help with infant feeding, parenting advice and early support for children with SEND, in one place, reducing the need to pay for private classes or specialist support.
These form the first wave of up to 1,000 hubs across all local authorities by the end of 2028, with 800 open by the end of April.
The new Best Start Family Hubs are backed by £900m of investment over the next three years – including half a billion to deliver hubs nationwide, £200m for the Healthy Babies services, and a further £200m to fund SEND practitioners in every hub.
Each hub will provide services for babies and children, with Healthy Babies services (such as maternity and health visiting). The core offer includes:
- Preventative and universal health services, particularly for babies
- Supportive parenting advice and stay and play activities
- Help with children’s learning and development at home
- Early support for children with additional needs, with a Best Start Inclusion Practitioner to deliver direct support in every Hub.
Every Best Start Family Hub will include dedicated outreach workers to reach families, alongside a practitioner to help identify additional needs early – particularly those who might otherwise fall through the cracks – helping them access the right support sooner without being passed
between services.
In practical terms:
- A family expecting a baby will be able to walk into a Best Start Family Hub and get joined-up support from midwifery through to health visiting, infant feeding and perinatal mental health – without navigating multiple referrals.
- A parent worried about their child’s development will be able to speak to a specialist inclusion practitioner without needing a diagnosis first.
- A family stretched financially can access free stay and play sessions, get help claiming their childcare entitlement and connect to debt or housing advice – all in one place.
Going further, a wider network of outreach workers, family navigators will extend this support beyond buildings and into local community venues like nurseries, libraries and GP surgeries, ensuring families can access services in the places they already go.
On top of savings of up to £200 a year through free stay and play sessions, many hubs will also provide access to debt advice and welfare guidance, which could help families access support they may otherwise miss and improve their financial position.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said:
Children growing up in our country deserve the best start in life, but for too long, too many families have been navigating the pressures of parenthood without the support they need.
Best Start Family Hubs will revitalise family services – bringing together health, parenting support and practical advice in one place, free and close to home, so that parents can get the help they need, when they need it.
I’ve seen the difference Sure Start made in my community, and why it’s so important that we bring that support back today, reimagined for a new generation of families.
Whether it’s advice on child development, help with additional needs, or simply a friendly face in the community, this government is putting the support so many families used to rely on, back into each and every community.
Celebrating the new local Best Start Family Hub, Cat Smith said:
I’m so pleased that my campaign to bring back family services to Lancaster and Wyre has been a success, helping to give local children the best start in life.
This is the difference a Labour MP working with a Labour government can do for children and families in our area.
This Best Start Family Hub will be transformative – alongside free breakfast clubs and government-funded childcare, we are showing this government is on the side of families in Lancaster and Wyre.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting said:
I want babies born this year to grow up as the healthiest generation than any before it – and that means building good habits early.
We know that the earliest years of a child’s life shape everything that follows. But for too long, families have had to navigate a maze of services at the very moment they need simple, straightforward help.
We’re making it easier for families to get the right support in one place – from pregnancy onwards.
That means spotting problems earlier, stepping in sooner, and moving care closer to the communities that need it most.
This comes on top of other measures from the Labour government, including:
- Rolling out 30 hours of government-funded childcare for working parents, halving the cost of childcare and saving parents them £8,000 on average.
- Creating and expanding new Best Start school-based nurseries, smashing targets on number of childcare places created.
- Ending ‘toddler top-up fees’, protecting parents from overcharging on items nappies so no one is priced out from accessible, affordable childcare.
- Developing the first ever screen time guidance for under-5s, providing non-judgemental, practical tips guided by evidence.
- Best Start free breakfast clubs, saving parents £450 per child, per year
- Expanding free school meals to half a million more children
- Cutting school uniform costs, saving parents £50 on the back to school shop
- Securing the future of Best Start Holiday Activities and Food clubs
- Driving the biggest reduction in child poverty within a single Parliament, by scrapping the two child limit
With significant investment over the next three years, Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies services will play a key role in improving school readiness, supporting early development and helping parents manage the cost of living. Hubs will also be able to host school-based nurseries, bringing childcare together with family support, health visiting and early SEND identification under one roof – giving families more joined-up support.
Read more: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hundreds-of-best-start-family-hubs-open-nationwide