Families and children across the country will be able to access pregnancy support, infant feeding advice, parenting classes and other support through a government funding boost, the government has said.

As part of the government’s Plan for Change, a total of £126 million has been promised to give children the best possible start in life.
Around £57 million will be allocated to 75 local authorities with high levels of deprivation in 2025-26, providing support through Start for Life services. The money will be used to improve mental health support for families, improve infant feeding services, and to ensure families can access their local Start for Life.
‘The first two years of a child’s life lay the building blocks for their physical and emotional wellbeing into adulthood,’ said minister for public health and prevention, Andrew Gwynne. Unfortunately, over 80% of parents have said they struggled to access early years services, according to the Department of Health and Social Care and Department for Education.
The government has set a milestone where progress is measured through 75% of five-year-olds reaching a ‘good level of development’ in the early years foundation stage assessment by 2028.
Around £45.5 billion could potentially be generated for the national economy through investment in early childhood, according to the government announcement.
Chief executive of the Children’s Bureau, Anna Feuchtwang has welcomed the announcement, calling the funding a ‘much needed down-payment’ towards greater investment:
‘[The funding] complements commitments in October’s Budget to fund family hubs, improve the quality of early education and childcare, and provide £250 million for local authorities to develop a new Family Help offer for those struggling with the greatest adversity.’
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