Giving Every Child the Best Start in Life - Statement

Part of the debate – in the House of Lords at 7:33 pm on 7 July 2025.

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Photo of Baroness Smith of Malvern Baroness Smith of Malvern Minister of State (Education), Minister of State (Minister for Women and Equalities) 7:33, 7 July 2025

My noble friend makes a very important point. We have seen the evidence from the Institute for Fiscal Studies and others about the long-term impact of Sure Start, which is what makes the gap in the past 14 years so distressing. That is why this Government are committed to building on Sure Start, developing the best start family hubs and providing over the course of this spending review period a trebling of the investment in them, and making sure that every local authority—not just the 88 that currently receive funding—has access to funding to develop that sort of provision.