Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life

Amanda Hack Excerpts

Monday 7th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

That was very good. I slightly resisted being drawn into the Oasis references earlier, and now we have moved on to Blur. I will stay out of that one, even though I have my preference.

My hon. Friend is right to talk about the importance of play for all children. It is striking—I am sure she will have heard the same thing from her younger constituents—that many children often do not feel safe to go out of the house and to be on our streets. We absolutely have to tackle that, because it is having a big impact on not just their mental health but their physical health. I would be happy to discuss that further with my hon. Friend.

[Amanda Hack (North West Leicestershire) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for her statement. At a recent joint meeting of the Work and Pensions Committee and the Education Committee, Sure Start was named by the panel as the previous Labour Government’s most positive policy for children. The policy had a very proud legacy, yet the Conservative party closed 50% of our centres in Leicestershire. Does the Secretary of State agree that building the foundations and investing in families, as happens at our family hub in North West Leicestershire, will ensure long-term benefits like those achieved by Sure Start? Will she say how Best Start family hubs will work alongside pre-schools and primary schools to aid the delicate transition into school?

[Bridget Phillipson]

The hubs will be key to our vision for how we better join up education and health services in the community, but they will also work with voluntary and community groups, childminders, libraries and others to bring services close to local people. My hon. Friend talked about the important links between early years settings and the start of school. We are setting out through the strategy how we will do more to better join up the support between early years settings and schools. We will use that not only as the basis for greater expertise, training and development, but, crucially, as the basis for better life chances and opportunities for children. If we can identify where children are struggling and not making the progress we would hope they were making, and share that at the start of school, it will make a really big difference.