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Rishi Sunak today unveiled plans to help thousands of new parents cope with the challenges of family life.
As a significant boost to family support, the Prime Minister is announcing £300 million in funding to roll out family hubs across England.
In a joint Daily Mail article with the Czar of Families, Dame Andrea Leadsom, the Prime Minister says a new network of 75 family hubs will help struggling parents “create lifelong bonds with their babies and children.”
They add, “Strong, supportive families also make for more stable communities and happier individuals.
As a significant boost to family support, the Prime Minister is announcing £300 million in funding to roll out family hubs across England.
All data shows that children with a safe home environment do better at school.
And we all know the long-term damage a family breakup can do.”
The government said the £300 million program will benefit 75 areas, with hubs providing support up to the age of 19.
They are designed to act as a ‘one stop shop’ to provide guidance and advice on issues such as breastfeeding, mental health support, health visits and parenting classes.
They also provide advice on getting to work, building relationships and help with quitting smoking.
And they will ensure early language and communication development of children to prepare them for school at the age of five.
Children’s Affairs Minister Claire Coutinho said: ‘Having children can be very hard and bring so much joy.
“All families need a helping hand from time to time. Family Hubs bring together services to help parents, carers, children and young people access the support they need more easily.
“Parenting advice ranges from breastfeeding and mental health support to guidance to give children a head start in learning.”
Government sources said the prime minister believed providing support to families could bring wider benefits to society.
In a speech last month, Sunak stressed that politicians “shouldn’t be shy” about promoting the importance of family life.
He said his own family “supports me in the most difficult moments of this job.”
The Prime Minister added: “Family is something that politicians struggle to talk about because you can all too easily be pilloried for being out of touch or, worse, hostile to those who don’t conform to some idealized form.
“We live in a world today where the family can and will take many forms. We can’t not talk about what’s most important in most of our lives.
“Not if the evidence is clear that strong, supportive families make for more stable communities and happier individuals.”
Matt Buttery, CEO of parenting program provider Triple P, welcomed the rollout of the hubs.
He said: ‘The cost of living crisis and the aftermath of the pandemic have taken their toll on young people’s mental health and the sooner they can access more support the better.’
