Cornwall is to receive a share of more than £301 million to boost the future of families with young children.

The government has today announced that Cornwall Council is one of 75 upper tier local authorities that are eligible to receive funding from the £301.75 million Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.

Family hubs are one-stop-shops where families can access services, designed to be a single ‘front door’ to make it easier for families to get the help they need.

They are for families with children of all ages, with the 'Start for Life' programme – covering the critical 1,001 days from conception to age two – at the heart of them.

The Government will also be providing additional funding for perinatal mental health and parent-infant relationships, help with breastfeeding, and parenting programmes, all accessible through the family hub.

It will now work with Cornwall Council on the final design of the programme and the council will be able to submit proposals for its use of the funding that will be made available.

Truro and Falmouth’s MP Cherilyn Mackrory has welcomed today’s announcement, saying: “Since 2020, in my work with the Government’s early years health advisor Andrea Leadsom MP, I have been keen to stress the importance of family hubs, not just for families of all ages but in particular the critical early years of the first 1,001 days from conception to age two.

“I have regularly met with the Ministers responsible for this area, Maria Caulfield and Will Quince, to stress the importance of taking action, and it is great to see the Government subsequently focusing so heavily on this area with their Family Hubs and Start for Life programme, and also that Cornwall Council will be benefitting from this funding to support their work.

“I look forward to engaging closely with Cornwall Council’s excellent Together for Families team as they prepare their proposals and hope to see this funding making a real positive and lasting impact on children and families throughout Cornwall.”