Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many family hubs he estimates will be established in (a) England and (b) the South East by 2024.

In the 2021 Budget, the government announced £82 million to create a network of family hubs. This is part of a wider £300 million package to transform services for parents, carers, babies, and children in half of local authorities across England. It builds on the £39.5 million the government had already committed to family hubs to champion the model, including a £12 million transformation fund which will support at least 12 local authorities in England to transform to a family hub model of service delivery.

Family hubs are a way of joining up locally to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help. They bring together services for children of all ages, with a great Start for Life offer at their core. How services are delivered varies from place to place and the department will work with local authorities eligible for the funds above to establish ambitious plans for their family hubs, considering local circumstance and need. More detail will be set out in due course.