Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will take steps to help ensure that family hubs provide therapeutic interventions to pregnant mothers who are at risk of having their baby removed.

The government is investing around £300 million through the Family Hubs & Start for Life programme to enable 75 local authorities to create family hubs, and to improve vital services to give every baby the best start in life.

Family Hubs are about bringing together professionals and services to provide support that families need. As part of the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, the government is investing around £100 million for perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationship support, which includes therapeutic start for life services. These services would be available to women who are at risk of having a baby removed from their care if they have mild-moderate perinatal mental health or parent-infant relationship difficulties.

Staff in the Family Hub know what services are provided where locally, and can connect families to services, information and support relevant to a family's specific needs. This will include supporting families to access evidence-based health improvement advice and interventions.

The programme sets out that local authorities are best placed to design their services to meet local needs. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/family-hubs-and-start-for-life-programme-local-authority-guide.

This investment in Family Hubs is significant. It will have a wide reach across the country, improving outcomes for thousands of babies, children, and families.