PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Start for Life Services - 7 January 2025 (Commons/Commons Chamber)
Debate Detail
Contributions from Pippa Heylings, are highlighted with a yellow border.
Pippa Heylings
South Cambridgeshire
12:14:16
Andrew Gwynne
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
We believe that every child deserves the best start in life. Due to the challenging fiscal context, we are initially prioritising family hubs and Start for Life funding to areas of high deprivation. We will consider the case for extension to South Cambridgeshire in future financial years.
Pippa Heylings
We know how important the best start in life is for opportunities for all. Only half upper-tier local authorities currently receive prioritised Start for Life and family hub funding—78 do not. In South Cambridgeshire, officers are doing huge work to provide support and signposting without dedicated funding, which means that babies, young parents and young families do not receive the full benefits. Will the Minister commit, in the next spending review, to extending these services across the whole of England?
Andrew Gwynne
Local authorities were pre-selected using the income deprivation affecting children index average rank scores, with a rural and urban weighting applied. Tackling child inequalities in health and outcomes is crucial. As resources allow, it is the ambition of the Government to ensure that Start for Life services reach every child.
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