Political Opinion: Labour’s plan for early years support reaches Luton South and South Bedfordshire

I was honoured to officially open Luton’s new Best Start Family Hub last week alongside Mayor of Luton Cllr Amy Nicholls. It was a privilege to meet with staff, see the amazing new facilities, and get an insight into how the hub will support families across our community.

The new Family Hub is on the ground floor of Luton Central Library and will serve as a fantastic new point for parents to access local services and find support on a range of issues, including pregnancy support, infant feeding, early years development, SEND, mental health, and much more.

The children’s library, that used to occupy the space, has also had an upgrade and now sits alongside the main library facilities upstairs. The new-and-improved library and community space just keeps getting better, giving our children and young people more opportunities to be curious and creative.

Luton Council have long recognised the importance of early years support to securing the best outcomes later in life. Staff and volunteers have worked tirelessly for so long, waiting for their ambitions for the family hub to be backed by meaningful funding and aspiration. I am proud that our Labour government has delivered this and is building on the legacy of Sure Start to make early years support accessible, helping to break the link between a child’s background and what they go on to achieve.

The previous government cut funding for Sure Start centres and wider early years provision. This resulted in many disappearing from local communities, but this Labour government is bringing back these centres to every local authority in England as part of the wider Best Start in Life Strategy, which is backed by a huge £1.5 billion of investment. This plan will also see the expansion of the 30 hours funded childcare entitlement, creation of 3,000 schools- based nurseries, and increased funding for training of early years staff.

In Luton South and South Bedfordshire, and across the country, our communities are already beginning to see the benefits of these changes. I can’t wait to see the continuing impact of the amazing work being done by our Family Hubs, and encourage everyone to find out more about the services they provide or how you can get involved at https://familyhubs.luton.gov.uk/.