Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of Best Start Family Hubs on local availability of high-quality childcare.

​​Ensuring every child has the best start in life, the chance to achieve and to thrive, are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.

Our Best Start in Life Strategy outlines how the department plans to invest close to £1.5 billion over the next three years on the early years and family services. This includes over £500 million to roll out Best Start Family Hubs in every local authority in England, and over £600 million on early years education and reception. We will also spend almost £370 million over the next four years to deliver school-based nurseries across England.

​In the 2025 Spending Review, the government announced it will provide an additional £1.6 billion per year by 2028/29, compared to 2025/26, to continue the expansion of government-funded childcare for working parents, boosting children’s life chances and work choices for their parents. This increase in funding reflects the expansion of childcare for eligible working parents to 30 hours and expected increases to funding rates across the spending review period.