A ‘Healthy Babies’ programme like what used to be provided in Sure Start centres will be rolled out to all local authorities by 2028, the Government has announced.
Parents will get enhanced infant feeding and mental health support, as well as help to form strong relationships with their babies, supported by health visitors and midwives, at more than 1,000 Family Hubs.
The Healthy Babies programme will be part of the neighbourhood health approach with support delivered closer to home, the Government said.
Sure Start was launched in 1998 under the Blair government and provided integrated services for families with children under five. At the peak there were 3,600 centres around the country.
Many services were closed or drastically cut as part of austerity spending cuts introduced in 2010 by the Conservative government.
An analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies in 2025 concluded that Sure Start had ‘wide-ranging and long-lasting’ benefits, improving health and educational outcomes, preventing injuries and crime and cutting inequalities.
It estimated that every £1 of up-front spending on Sure Start generated £2.05 in total benefits over the long run.
Health and social care secretary Yvette Cooper said Best Start Family Hubs were already being rolled out across England, but more than half of local authorities have hubs without Healthy Babies services, ‘meaning families cannot always access integrated health, early years development and family support in one place’.
Announcing the plans at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Ms Cooper said: ‘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. That changes now.
‘We will bring back the Sure Start health services into every family centre. One of the Labour party’s greatest achievements, restored to families throughout the land.’
In response to the announcement, Dr Mike McKean, vice-president for policy at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said these early-year services played a ‘vital role’ in supporting children’s health and wellbeing.
‘By providing support on nutrition, child development, parental mental health and financial wellbeing, they can help give children the best start in life and reduce the risk of poorer long-term outcomes, including obesity, poor mental health and school absence.
This investment is ‘urgently needed’, he added pointing to their State of Child Health report published this summer which found the UK is on track to raise ‘one of the unhealthiest generations of children in decades’.
It revealed a ‘worrying picture’ of children’s health across the UK, with progress stalling or going backwards in key areas, including vaccination uptake, oral health, obesity and even infant mortality, he said.
Dr McKean added: ‘We urge the Government to build on this momentum by continuing to invest in early years services. It is vital that all families, particularly those facing the greatest challenges, can access the support they need to give their children the healthiest possible start in life.’
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