Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what role they intend Best Start Family Hubs to play in identifying and supporting mothers experiencing perinatal and postnatal mental health difficulties.

Supporting perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships are vital to the health and wellbeing of babies and their caregivers.

The Department is investing £200 million for Healthy Babies services in 75 local authority areas with high levels of deprivation, including £109 million to provide enhanced parent-infant relationship and perinatal mental health support. This forms part of a £900 million package in Best Start Family Hubs and Healthy Babies to create a more integrated, accessible system of support for families.

All Best Start Family Hubs should provide safe and inclusive perinatal mental health support, identifying needs early, offering emotional support and help families to access appropriate support and services within their local area. Healthy Babies funded areas are expected to deliver an enhanced perinatal mental health service, with proactive identification, accessible support, and clear referral pathways. These services complement National Health Service provision for parents with moderate to severe perinatal mental health needs.