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The government is expanding the Healthy Babies programme across all local authorities in England, committing £500 million to establish 1,000 family hubs by April 2027. This initiative aims to support parents with infant feeding, mental health services, and building strong parent-child bonds through health visits and midwifery care, emulating the principles of the former Sure Start programme. Yvette Cooper, Health and Social Care secretary, announced that these new family hubs will integrate Healthy Babies services into every community, addressing gaps in support currently present in over half of local authorities.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-30,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Yvette Cooper, Health and Social Care Secretary of the UK's Labour government, announced plans on Wednesday at the Labour conference in Liverpool to revive the principles of the Sure Start program with a new initiative called "Healthy Babies." This scheme aims to expand services for parents and infants across all local authority areas in England. The goal is to establish up to 1,000 family hubs by April 2027, offering enhanced support including infant feeding assistance, mental health support, and relationship-building with newborns. Labour plans to invest £500 million over the next two years for this expansion, mirroring the original Sure Start program that was initiated in 1998 but later dismantled by Conservative cuts post-2010. The new policy aims to address disparities in early childhood care and support families through integrated health and social services.
Written for “Early Childhood Support Programmes” on 2026-10-05,
grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.
The government is rolling out a Healthy Babies programme to every local authority in England, as part of its efforts to expand a Sure Start-type system of help for deprived children and families.
asserted
government → roll → children
It aims to support parents with infant feeding, their mental health and building strong bonds with their babies, alongside health visits, midwifery care and wider services.
asserted
It → aim → visits
The scheme seeks to follow the principles of Sure Start, a network of centres offering integrated services for the under-fives and their families, launched in 1998 under a Labour government.
asserted
scheme → seek → government
Sure Start was seen as one of that government’s major successes, with one study saying it generated longer-term savings worth twice the system’s cost.
asserted
it → see → savings
But much of that scheme was dismantled amid massive spending cuts by the Conservatives.
asserted
much → dismantle → Conservatives
The new policy of family hubs will commit £500m to opening 1,000 centres from April 2027.
asserted
policy → commit → April
Announcing the expansion of the Healthy Babies programme at the Labour conference in Liverpool, Yvette Cooper, the Health and Social Care secretary, is expected to say that the programme will reach up to 1,000 family hubs over the next two years.
asserted
programme → announce → years
Since the election the Labour government has opened new family hubs across England, but more than half of local authorities have hubs without Healthy Babies services.
asserted
half → open → services
“Something is missing in half of communities … the Healthy Babies services – mental health support for mums and dad, the feeding and bonding support for your new baby.
asserted
Something → miss → baby
That changes now,” Cooper will say.
asserted
Cooper → change → ?
“We will bring back the Sure Start health services into every family centre.
asserted
We → bring → centre
Sure Start and its successor programmes are seen as integral to the narrative of the modern Labour party, with housing secretary Angela Rayner saying her life as a teenage mother and that of her son were turned around by her local centre, which offered her a parenting course.
asserted
which → see → course
In an article for the Guardian in July last year, Bridget Phillipson, then the education secretary, recounted working closely with the first Sure Start centre in Washington, Tyne and Wear, where, before entering politics, she ran a refuge for women fleeing domestic violence.
asserted
she → recount → violence
“It was a lifeline for those women who, despite everything, were determined to give their children the very best start in life,” she wrote.
asserted
she → give → life
“The gap in achievement we see between our poorest and most affluent children at 16 is baked in before they even start school, creating a vicious cycle of lost life chances that’s all too visible in the shameful number of young people not earning or learning.”
asserted
people → see → number
In a follow-up announcement to the plan for family hub centres, Phillipson’s department had announced plans to pay qualified early years teachers to work in the most deprived areas, where their work could have the greatest impact.
uncertain
work → announce → impact
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