Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life

Luke Myer Excerpts

Monday 7th July 2025 Commons Chamber

[Bridget Phillipson]

My hon. Friend’s community will benefit from the extra investment in today’s announcement, alongside the wider announcements in the “best start in life” strategy, which focuses on a number of important areas, including early-years education, reception, the support we put in place for parents, and the funding to deliver that.

My hon. Friend is right to draw attention, as others have, to the needs of communities that are geographically isolated, including rural communities. Some of the best and most effective work that we have seen has included outreach work with communities and families directly—work to understand their needs and tailor and deliver services accordingly. Being responsive to what parents are telling services would be best and most effective.

[Luke Myer (Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland) (Lab)]

Last year, I was delighted to welcome my right hon. Friend to our family hub in Guisborough—one of three that our Labour council opened across East Cleveland. I commend the work of Nicola Hall and her team at those centres. Today our Government have gone even further by investing in early years services to benefit working families right across the country. I commend this statement and this Secretary of State for delivering that. Will local authorities with existing provision, like mine, be able to access this funding and benefit in future?

[Bridget Phillipson]

I had a fantastic visit to my hon. Friend’s constituency. It demonstrated that even in the face of the very difficult funding settlement that many local councils have endured, brilliant councils have sought to prioritise investment. As the then lead member on that council, my hon. Friend did incredible work ensuring that families had access to support. What has always remained with me from our visit was how important it was to bring speech and language provision into the family hub. We really want to build on that. Yes, I can confirm that all local authorities will benefit from the announcement today, including my hon. Friend’s. We will confirm allocations for all local authorities in the autumn.