Infants, children and families in Norfolk to benefit from boost in support

I welcome the news that Norfolk will receive one of 75 new Family Hubs under plans to Level Up access to childcare, mental health services, housing advice, and employment across England.

As part of the Government’s plans to support vulnerable children and families, 75 councils across the country including Norfolk County Council will receive a share of £302 million to build a new network of family hubs. This new funding is delivering on the our manifesto commitment to boost the Family Hubs and Start for Life programme.

300,000 vulnerable families will also receive targeted support from a dedicated keyworker to overcome challenges at the earliest stage – preventing them from being caught up in the social care system and helping parents and children to stay together safely.

The Government is backing the Supporting Families programme with £700 million in funding over the next three years. Young people who go through the programme are 38 per cent less
likely to end up in prison and 32 per cent less likely to be taken into care.

To help vulnerable young people leaving care make the transition to living independently, the Government is investing over £172 million over three years to support them to stay near
their foster families or children’s home.

Extra services and advice will be provided to help young people leaving care to fulfil their potential.

Councils will also be supported with an extra £3.2 million in 2022-23 to prevent care leavers from sleeping rough.

It is vital that families across England have access to the same high quality services to support them and their children’s development, wherever they live.

By ensuring vulnerable families and young people leaving care can access key support services in one place, we are helping to end the postcode lottery that too many of them face as we build back fairer.

As MP for Norwich North, ensuring that our young people get the best possible start in life is one of my priorities. To find out more about what action I am taking both in Norwich and Westminster for this work, please visit: https://www.chloesmith.org.uk/myplan/children.

For further information on this announcement, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/infants-children-and-families-to-benefit-from-boost-in-support