Healthy Babies support to reach every Best Start Family Hub in England by 2028
Parents across England are set to receive more integrated early-years support under plans to expand the Healthy Babies programme to every Best Start Family Hub by 2028.
The Department of Health and Social Care announced the expansion on 30 September. It aims to bring infant-feeding advice, parental mental-health support and help with parent–baby relationships together with health-visiting and midwifery services at more than 1,000 hubs.
Closing gaps in local support
According to the government, more than half of local authorities currently have family hubs without Healthy Babies services. The expansion is intended to address that uneven provision through an approach based on Sure Start principles.
For parents, the potential benefit is a clearer route through services that can otherwise feel separate. A family seeking feeding advice may also need emotional support, while concerns about a baby’s development may involve several professionals.
Bringing those services together could make it easier to identify needs and connect families with appropriate help. Whether that happens in practice will depend on local staffing, referral arrangements and coordination between services.
What does the announcement mean for families now?
The rollout sets a national ambition rather than confirming that the additional support is already available everywhere.
The announcement does not provide a hub-by-hub timetable, detailed eligibility rules or appointment information. Parents should check with their local family hub or council to establish what is currently offered and how to access it.
Useful questions include whether families can approach the service directly, which professionals provide support and what happens if more specialist help is needed.
Wider measures on care and safeguarding
The same announcement includes an adult social care workforce plan due by the end of 2026, a national collective pension scheme for care workers and a planned champion for unpaid carers.
Separately, £49.4 million over three years will support the NHS response to violence against women and girls, including an initial Steps to Safety referral service across 12 integrated care boards.
These are distinct measures within the wider announcement; the violence-and-abuse funding should not be read as funding for Healthy Babies.
Where private health insurance fits
The family-hub expansion concerns public and community services. It does not change the benefits available under a private medical insurance policy.
Families considering private healthcare should distinguish between early-years family support and treatment covered by insurance. Our guide to children’s mental-health cover explains the policy questions to check when seeking private support.
For this rollout, the practical test will be whether parents can find and access appropriate help locally. The 2028 target establishes the intended reach; implementation will determine what families experience.
Source: Department of Health and Social Care — Support for families and babies rolled out to all family hubs, published 30 September 2026.
