Alex Baker MP has launched a consultation to ensure the military community gets the best from the soon-to-be established Best Start Family Hubs.
The government has announced that 1,000 Best Start Hubs will be established across the country by 2028 to act as ‘one-stop shops’ for families with children through early years and beyond. They will host activities ranging from free classes and events to pre-school support for children, or finance and housing advice for families.
The Hubs are central to the government’s drive to break the link between a child’s background and what they go on to achieve. Research shows that early support makes a real difference. Children who have access to the Sure Start centres, the forerunners to the Best Start Hubs, are more likely to achieve better GCSE results and have improved health.
As the MP for the Home of the British Army, Alex Baker has been working closely with families based in the Aldershot Garrison and around the country to ensure that the special needs that the Armed Forces community often has, especially due to multiple postings or camp life, is recognised in government policy.
She has been working closely with colleagues to ensure the Armed Forces Covenant, which promises fair treatment for the military community including veterans, cadets and reservists as well as serving personnel, is enshrined into law. This means that all government departments will have to legally consider the needs of the Armed Forces community when making new policy.
She aims to encourage the Department of Education to take the lead by adopting a proactive approach to Best Start Family Hubs.
Alex has initiated a series of meetings with organisations representing military families across the country and has set up a survey to get the views of the families of soldiers, sailors and aircrews directly.
Alex Baker, Labour Member of Parliament for Aldershot and Farnborough, said:
“Initiatives like Sure Start have played a vital role in levelling the playing field in the community, transforming the lives of children by providing family support in the earliest years of life.
“So, it’s incredibly exciting that Best Start Family Hubs will build on this legacy. But I am acutely aware that the military community can find that services like these are not equipped to meet their unique needs or to offer consistent support across the country.
“I want to hear from parents in service families to make sure that the Best Start Hubs recognise the additional challenges that they face and are able to respond – ensuring that health, social care and education work together so that children get the very best start in life.”
The consultation questionnaire is available here and closes at 5pm on Sunday 17 August.
