The government is expanding its Healthy Babies programme to every local authority in England. This initiative is part of a broader effort to develop a Sure Start-type system designed to assist deprived children and families.
The programme aims to offer support to parents in areas such as infant feeding, mental health, and fostering strong bonds with their babies. These services will complement existing health visits, midwifery care, and other wider services.
Yvette Cooper, the Health and Social Care secretary, is expected to announce the programme's expansion at the Labour conference in Liverpool. She is anticipated to state that the programme will reach up to 1,000 family hubs over the next two years.
While new family hubs have opened across England since the election, more than half of local authorities currently have hubs without Healthy Babies services. Cooper is expected to say that this will change, bringing back Sure Start health services into every family centre.