Council and democracy

Agenda item

Family Hubs, Start For Life

Minutes:

The Strategic Lead for YOS and Prevention presented the report to the Committee. She updated the Committee that Thurrock Council is one of 75 local authority areas eligible to benefit from the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme. Funding of £301.75 million has been allocated to the programme between 2022–2025 alongside an additional £28.7m to improve the home learning environment (HLE) for 3–4-year-olds as part of the pandemic education recovery programme. Funding is dependent upon local authority areas meeting all programme requirements over three years.

 

Support for children aged 0-19 years, young adults up to 25 who have special educational needs and/or disability (SEND), and services to support parents/carers will be delivered through a family hub network. These services will be designed to enhance and expand a range of existing children’s centre and early help provision. Local authority areas must involve parents and carers in the development and design of local services (co-production) and look at opportunities to co-locate services including those delivered by the voluntary sector and community groups.  

 

The programme has a focus on the Start for Life period from conception to age two, incorporating recommendations from ‘The Best Start for Life: A Vision for the 1,001 Critical Days’ review (2021). In response to this, funding has been specifically allocated to develop or enhance perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships services, and infant feeding and parenting support. Local authority areas are also required to deliver a range of multi-agency core services through their family hub network.

 

Up to fifteen local authority areas will be appointed as Trailblazers and receive additional funding in Year 1 to ‘go further and faster’. Trailblazers will be national leaders, support other local authorities, and develop best practice. The Strategic Lead for YOS and Prevention confirmed that Thurrock Council submitted its ‘sign-up’ form and Trailblazer application to the central programme office on the 30 September for consideration.

 

Each local authority area is required to submit a Delivery Plan by the end of 2022. This will sit alongside locally owned plans and set out the overall ambition for change over the 3 years of the programme and show how funding will be used to achieve funding objectives. The Delivery Plan will set out medium to long terms goals including ‘go further’ options, milestones for opening family hubs and financial modelling.

 

The Chair thanked the Strategic Lead for YOS and Prevention for the report and commented that he hoped Thurrock would be selected as a trailblazer.

 

Councillor Kerin asked if the delivery plan will be ready by 31 December 2022 as this is only 6 weeks away.

 

The Strategic Lead for YOS and Prevention confirmed it isn’t ready yet but they have started it and it will be ready by the deadline.

 

Councillor Kerin queried if any of the locations of the family hubs could be confirmed.

 

The Strategic Lead for YOS and Prevention responded that she was unable to confirm the exact locations as yet.

 

Councillor Anderson noted that it stated in the report they would be looking at main facilities in East, West and Central areas of Thurrock. As a ward Councillor in East Thurrock he welcomed any improvement to services in the area.

 

RESOLVED

 

1.1     That Members receive this report for information and note the requirements and responsibilities of local authority areas engaged in the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.

 

 

Supporting documents: