Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life

Jas Athwal Excerpts

Monday 7th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Jas Athwal (Ilford South) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for her statement. In Ilford, our engagement hubs bring together family services, citizens advice, revenues and benefits teams, and enforcement officers—in effect, the council is taken into the community—so I particularly welcome today’s announcement of Best Start family hubs that will operate on a similar model. Will the Secretary of State explore the opportunity to co-locate services as per the Redbridge model, and confirm that trained SEND co-ordinators will be placed in the new hubs to identify needs, work with parents and ensure easy access to early years support?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for identifying the brilliant work that is already going on in his constituency. Through today’s announcement and the “best start in life” strategy, his community and his constituents will see extra investment and more support for precisely the kinds of services he identified. This will be a crucial part of the shift that we make both in education and in health, moving away from treatment to prevention, with more support rooted in communities that it is easier for parents and families to access and that, critically, is focused on delivering the best start in life for all our children.