Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how local authorities' unfunded activity to deliver Family Hubs will be measured against the minimum expectations laid out in guidance.

The government is committed to ensuring that families can access joined-up support through Best Start Family Hubs (BSFH). The department’s guidance sets minimum expectations for services that are not receiving additional investment through the programme.

Local authorities are responsible for shaping delivery to reflect local needs. How they deliver these wider-service expectations is for them to determine. All local authorities have published Best Start in Life local plans and developed BSFH delivery plans explaining how programme funding and activity will deliver against programme expectations.

The department supports and monitors BSFH delivery against the guidance through these plans, local authority data returns and regular engagement with local authorities. A national evaluation will also assess whether the programme is achieving its intended outcomes and help inform future delivery.