Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to ensure that mental health professionals are integrated into the Government's work on family hubs.

The Department of Health and Social Care is working with the Department for Education to improve outcomes for babies, children, parents and carers. Around £300 million has been allocated to fund a new three-year Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, £100 million of which has been allocated to perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships. Professionals are central to the success of the programme, and we are therefore investing in training programmes for evidence-based parent-infant relationship interventions to improve staff capability. There is also an expectation that all staff in family hubs should have an understanding of mental health issues and be able to refer families to specialist mental health services.