Written questions by Hayes.

Whether she plans to ringfence funding associated with the (a) establishment and (b) operation of new Best Start Family Hubs.

​​Ensuring every child has the best start in life, the chance to achieve and to thrive, is the cornerstone of the government’s Opportunity Mission.The funding mechanism for Best Start Family Hubs will be announced in due course.

How many former Sure Start children’s centres have (a) closed and (b) reduced services so that they no longer meet the statutory criteria of a children’s centre since 2011.

​​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.Data on the number of Sure Start children’s centres is supplied by local authorities via the department’s Get Information about Schools database portal, which can be accessed here: https://www.get-information-schools.service.gov.uk/.​Based on information supplied by local authorities, 779 children’s centres have closed since 2011. Local authorities have converted a further 686 children’s centres into ‘children’s centre linked sites’. These are formerly children's centres in their own right, but they no longer meet the statutory definition of a children’s centre. They offer some early childhood services on behalf of another children's centre.​These figures are based on information supplied by local authorities as at 2 September 2025. These figures could change again in future, since local authorities may update the database at any time.

Whether she has considered commissioning (a) medium- and (b) long-term studies to monitor the effectiveness of Best Start Family Hubs.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.Monitoring and evaluation will be a crucial component of the programme from the beginning. Planning is ongoing, but we expect it to include continue robust monitoring and evaluation.

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.

What lessons her Department has learned from the preceding roll out of (a) Sure Start Sure Start Local Programmes and (b) Sure Start Children’s Centres.

​​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.​Research by the Institute of Fiscal Studies has shown that access to Sure Start local programmes and Sure Start children’s centres in early life generated widespread, long-lasting benefits, improving children’s health and educational outcomes and reducing the prevalence of identified special education needs and disabilities (SEND). Building on these lessons, we are strengthening the early years system through Best Start Family Hubs to provide essential support for parents, improve health, education, and wellbeing, and offer a single access point for services, including a digital offer, targeted in the places we know will make the most impact.

What steps she is taking to embed parental outreach in designs for new Best Start Family Hubs.

​​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.This is a central challenge and we are responding with new outreach funding and targeted test, learn and grow pilots to find what works.​We have already seen early success in areas like Sheffield and Manchester, where we gathered good insight by testing and adapting outreach approaches focused on boosting take-up of support.​Best Start Family Hubs will work with parent panels, voluntary sector partners, and local data to reach underserved groups, including fathers, minority ethnic communities, and young parents.​The department is also investing in a new digital hub, linked with 'My Children' in the NHS App, to make it easier for all families to find trusted advice and book services.

What assessment she has made of the potential merits of co-location of Best Start Family Hubs and local primary schools.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.The precise location of Best Start Family Hubs will be for local authorities to decide in consultation with their local communities. We will be providing guidance to local authorities on programme design in time to support service delivery from April 2026.

What steps she is taking to embed a focus on (a) antenatal and (b) prenatal support for parents in the delivery of new Best Start Family Hubs.

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.As set out in the Best Start in Life (BSIL) Strategy, Best Start Family Hubs will bring together professionals from health and education, with a continued focus on the 1001 critical days from conception to age 2.The BSIL strategy makes it clear that the integration of health services within Best Start Family Hubs is critical to raising the healthiest generation of children ever, and to ensuring that every child has a happy, heathy start to life. Additionally, it commits the government to strengthening health services in early childhood, improving maternity and newborn care, strengthening health visiting services, making it easier to get vaccinated, supporting healthy eating, tackling tooth decay and giving parents and health professionals easier access to child health information.

How many former Sure Start children’s centres are no longer operated by local authorities and have been transferred into the third sector.

The department does not hold data on how many former Sure Start children’s centres are operated by the third sector.

What discussions has she had with the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care on the establishment of Best Start Family Hubs.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.The government has published 'Giving every child the Best Start in Life', which outlines our commitment to deliver a new Best Start Family Service that will bring together parenting, healthcare and education support services.

What steps she is taking to ensure that new Best Start Family Hubs are integrated with primary care services.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.Children’s early years are crucial to their development, health and life chances. This government has an ambition to raise the healthiest generation of children ever. Improved health and education go hand in hand, as healthier children are better able to learn and children who achieve well in education go on to live healthier lives. Consequently, the Best Start in Life strategy makes it clear that the integration of strengthened health services within Best Start Family Hubs is critical to achieving these objectives.Best Start Family Hubs will be a crucial part of shifting from treatment to prevention, and from hospital to community care. The department of Health and Social Care’s 10 Year Health Plan sets out how a new Neighbourhood Health Service will build on and coordinate with Best Start Family Hubs and Start for Life services to continue to integrate children’s services, NHS and public health, including primary care.

What steps she is taking to ensure that new Best Start Family Hubs can access high quality data collected by the NHS.

Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.Local authorities have their own data sharing agreement with the NHS. These are crucial for enabling population health management and integrated care services to better inform and co-ordinate care for babies, children and families.We encourage Best Start Family Hubs to harness the power of networks to drive progress on joining up professionals, services and providers though co-location, integration, partnerships, data sharing, shared outcomes and governance.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of awareness of the Sure Start brand on take up of services by Sure Start Children's Centres.

The Childcare and Early Years Survey of Parents 2024, published in July 2025, includes the latest data on the awareness and take up of family hubs and children’s centres. The data is available under section 5: Home Learning environment, family hubs and children’s centres (tables 6.13 to 6.16), which is accessible at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/childcare-and-early-years-survey-of-parents/2024.

What steps she is taking to ensure that new Best Start Family Hubs embed a strong local parental voice in their governance.

​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.Best Start Family Hubs will involve parents in hub design and delivery, working with parents through panels. We are investing in targeted community outreach activities, including accessing existing networks via the voluntary and community sector and local data to reach underserved groups, including fathers, minority ethnic communities, and young parents.

What role local authorities will have in the (a) delivery and (b) day-to-day operation of Best Start Family Hubs.

​​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.​The government is investing over £500 million to create a network of up to 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs across every local authority in England by 2028. Best Start Family Hubs builds on previous investment into Family Hubs and Start for Life services between 2022 and 2026 for 88 local authorities.​Local authorities will deliver joined up and enhanced services through family hubs so that all parents and carers can access the support they need, when they need it. Local authorities will receive a programme guide with minimum delivery expectations and will be expected to develop clear plans to establish and enhance family hubs in their area. Their role will include identifying family hub sites, commissioning services within family hubs and the recruitment of staff to deliver services. Services will vary depending on local needs, though examples are: 'stay and play' sessions for child and families, parenting advice and courses, support for children‘s language and emotional development, health services, and support for parents in creating a positive home learning environment.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of Best Start Family Hubs on child safeguarding.

​​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.​Best Start Family Hubs will provide support for families that need it. They will improve the join up of vital services in an area and making it easier for children and families to access a range of help at the right time, irrespective of their needs. This includes the roll out of Family Help, which is showing positive early impact. We will continue to monitor outcomes for children through our published children in need statistics.​The Families First for Children Pathfinder has also tested radical reforms in local areas, across family help, child protection, family networks and safeguarding partners.​The pathfinder draws on evidence and existing good practice, including from the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme and the ten participating areas are reporting positive early impacts.​The department commissioned Ecorys and consortium to carry out process, impact and value-for-money evaluation of the Family Hubs transformation, home learning environment and parenting support programme elements of the Family Hubs and Start for Life Programme which is ongoing. Findings should be available in early 2026.​Monitoring and evaluation will be a crucial component of the new Best Start Family Hubs. Planning is ongoing but we expect to include continue robust monitoring and evaluation, particularly looking at impact including on the impact on children from different backgrounds.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of Best Start Family Hubs on the early identification of SEN amongst children.

​​Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive, are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.​As part of the ‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’ publication, the department announced that each best start family hub will have a children and family services professional specifically trained in working to support parents of children with additional needs. This will help identify and support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who may need extra help early on, making links with local early years settings and health services.​Evidence suggests that early intervention through integrated family support services can boost early special educational needs (SEN) identification and academic performance. The Institute of Fiscal Studies published a study in May 2025, on the short- and medium-term impacts of Sure Start, which best start family hubs will draw lessons from. This revealed Sure Start programmes significantly improved educational achievements of children up to age 16 and reduced the likelihood of children of ages 7 to 16 having a SEN support plan.​Speech, language and communication remain a core focus of home learning environment support, and the remit has broadened to enable a more holistic approach to early development. Several local authorities have introduced play co-ordinators in family hubs, trained to identify speech and language delays and support parents in promoting development at home.

What assessment she has made of the potential impact of Best Start Family Hubs on the number of children with speech and language problems requiring specialist intervention.

​​Ensuring every child has the best start in life and the chance to achieve and to thrive, are the foundation stones of the government’s Opportunity Mission.​As part of the ‘Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life’ publication, the department announced that each best start family hub will have a children and family services professional specifically trained in working to support parents of children with additional needs. This will help identify and support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) who may need extra help early on, making links with local early years settings and health services.​Evidence suggests that early intervention through integrated family support services can boost early special educational needs (SEN) identification and academic performance. The Institute of Fiscal Studies published a study in May 2025, on the short- and medium-term impacts of Sure Start, which best start family hubs will draw lessons from. This revealed Sure Start programmes significantly improved educational achievements of children up to age 16 and reduced the likelihood of children of ages 7 to 16 having a SEN support plan.​Speech, language and communication remain a core focus of home learning environment support, and the remit has broadened to enable a more holistic approach to early development. Several local authorities have introduced play co-ordinators in family hubs, trained to identify speech and language delays and support parents in promoting development at home.

What assessment he has made of the adequacy of the labour supply of trained midwives.

No specific assessment has been made but later this year we will publish a 10 Year Workforce Plan which will outline strategies for improving retention, productivity, training, and reducing attrition, enhancing conditions for all NHS staff.

What assessment he has made of trends in the level of demand for NHS maternity services.

The Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England monitor trends in demand for maternity services using a number of different data sources. Demand is primarily driven by the number of women giving birth, as well as the type and complexity of the care that they and their babies need. The number of births in England has been trending downwards for over a decade, with there being 545,149 deliveries in National Health Service hospitals in 2023/24, 19% lower than the peak of 671,255 in 2012/13. While the number of women giving birth has decreased in recent years, an increasing proportion of women are giving birth for the first time, have pre-existing health conditions, or are developing pregnancy-related complications.The Office for National Statistics predicts that births in England will increase to approximately 590,000 births per year by 2030, based on 2022-based population projections. This, and increases in the average number of admissions and appointments for each woman who gave birth in recent years, could indicate that demand on maternity services is expected to rise.