Budget 2021: Ministers pledge £500m to support young families
Hope rural areas are getting their share of this investment!
Ministers are to fund a network of “family hubs” in England as part of a £500m package to support parents and children.
The centres in 75 different areas will provide a “one stop shop” for support and advice, the government said.
The funding, to be announced by the chancellor in Wednesday’s Budget, will also go towards breastfeeding advice and mental health services.
Labour called the plans a “smokescreen” for failing to deliver for families.
Kate Green MP, Labour’s shadow education secretary, said family hubs were “a sticking plaster for a fractured childcare and children services landscape”.
“This supposed commitment rings hollow after 11 years of Conservative cuts have forced the closure of over a thousand children’s centres, cutting off the early learning that sets children up for life,” she said.
The funding includes £200m to support 300,000 families who face complex issues that could lead to family breakdown.
Some £82m will be given to 75 local authorities to fund the new family hubs, while another £100m will go towards mental health support for expectant parents.
And £50m will be spent on breastfeeding support – including antenatal classes and one-to-one support – to build upon best practice from areas such as Tower Hamlets in London, which has the highest breastfeeding rates at six to eight weeks in England.