Every council in England will have a family hub by 2028. To provide a single point of access for services in health, education and wellbeing. There will also be activities for children under five and youth service provision.
It is considered that this will provide an integrated and accessible support for families. It is reminiscent of the Sure Start scheme established under the previous Labour Government, which was very successful.
It is hoped that the integrated approach will overcome the recent fragmentation in public services and prevent issues escalating. There is an emphasis on expanding reach and ensuring comprehensive support.
These hubs are expected to offer support prenatally to age 19 years.
There will be support for early years, parenting and family support, health and wellbeing, debt advice, housing advice, childcare, education, and community connection.
There is an implicit acknowledgement that the closure or scaling back of over 1,000 Sure Start centres since 2010 has left some children at a disadvantage. Labour proposes that family hubs will build on and restore the legacy of Sure Start, particularly in deprived communities. Research showed that children who lived near a Sure Start centre for their first five years were more likely to get five good GCSE grades at age 16.
It is known that early years are important in a child’s development and future life chances. The way in which these are important are that early intervention in early years improve wellbeing, educational attainment and reduce the risk of need for intense and costly interventions later. The holistic approach will hopefully lead to a more comprehensive and coordinated process, addressing interconnected needs. Strengthening families will follow from helping parents raise children and foster healthy relationships. Hopefully it will lead to a fairer access to quality support, tackling child poverty. This will provide community anchors and strengthen communities.
The desire is that there will be universal access, not just a targeted approach to the most disadvantaged, open to all families, so there is no stigma and increased uptake by everyone. The services will be integrated and seamless, combining education, health and social care, in an efficient and family-friendly way.
There is central funding and direction would be provided; however, local authorities would be empowered to tailor services based on the specific needs of their communities.
Adequate and sustainable funding is crucial; there will need to be a skilled workforce to deliver these multiple and wide-ranging services.
The UK is in the grip of a cost-of-living crisis, rising child poverty, and overburdened public services. The mental health of children and parents alike has suffered post-pandemic, and health visitors, nursery places, and youth services have seen cuts over the past decade.
Labour argues that providing coordinated support early in a child’s life is not just morally right—it’s fiscally sensible. Evidence shows that early intervention saves money in the long run by reducing demand on the NHS, social services, and the criminal justice system.
The previous Conservative government rolled out a programme however, this was piecemeal, underfunded, and less ambitious in scope. Family hubs were originally opened in 75 local authority areas at the start of 2024 by the then Conservative government.
The Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life plan (published this week on 7th July 2025) lays out how ministers hope to improve the development of children under five and give support to parents and wider families. It states ‘Giving every child the best start in life’ outlines how the government will improve child development and ensure that all children have the chance to achieve and thrive.
This will be achieved by:
- improving family services, providing high quality support to parents and children from pregnancy to age 5
- making it easier and cheaper for families to access early education and care
- improving the quality of education and care that children receive in:
- early years settings
- childminders
- reception classes
It aims for improving child development and meeting the ambition that 75% of 5-year-olds in England have a good level of development by 2028. This will be measured by the early learning goals in the ‘Early years foundation stage (EYFS) statutory framework’.
We should all embrace this and ensure its success, after all these children are our future.