Decision details

Dave Carr, Director of Policy, Commissioning and Children's Health, Lancashire County Council provided the Board with a report on family hubs.  They were informed that these are a way of joining up locally, to improve access to services, the connections between families, professionals, services, and providers, and putting relationships at the heart of family help. Family hubs can include both physical locations and virtual offers, with a range of services for families with children of all ages, with a great Start for Life offer at their core.  Further information on Family Hubs was detailed in the report.

Lancashire County Council has submitted a bid for £1m to the Department for Education for Transformation funding to support the establishment of a network of Family Hubs across the County.  The outcome of the bid is expected to be known shortly after the local elections in May 2022.  If successful, the funding will run to March 2024, providing a project team and support to undertake consultation, engagement and design work at a local level across Lancashire to help move to a family hub mode, including over 50 family hub buildings.  The funding would include very little capital monies and would not cover the costs of family hub services themselves.

The Board were informed of the core universal services that must be delivered as part of the model and Lancashire's vision which are detailed further in the report.

The Board noted that the Family Hubs and Growing Up Well Digital programmes present many opportunities for working better together in partnership and, if they are to achieve significant positive benefits for children and families, need the support and engagement of partners and stakeholders from across the children's system.

The Growing Up Well programme is supported by the Department for Education, which has identified key information sharing "pain points" experienced by practitioners and is informing the development of national and local solutions which will help people to work better together.

The Board noted that within Lancashire, a proof concept has been undertaken to join up various datasets, including from Early Years Teams, Early Help Teams, Children's Social Care and Education, to help inform a system wide-business case for the implementation of a digital Information sharing service.  The final outputs from the proof of concept are expected in May 2022. 

Following the presentation, the following points/issues were discussed:

·  It was queried as to whether the early help offer would be utilised as part of the Family Hubs to ensure that there was no duplication.  The Board noted that in parts of the County there was already provision in place and to build on what is available, with further work required in other areas.

·  Working with local communities and with district colleagues, NHS and GPs is important as they are closest to their communities

·  It was suggested that Family Hubs should be branded as a partnership to help ensure that people understand what they are and what they offer.

·  It was noted that there was also an opportunity when shaping this model, to include the voice of children and young people and their families; as well as including communities and partnerships in each area, to ensure that the Family Hubs are embedded within the communities to support those who require help.

Resolved:  That the Health and Wellbeing Board:

(i)  Noted the proposals for Family Hubs in Lancashire and the associated Growing Up Well Digital programme.

(ii)  Considered the opportunities for working in partnership, including with local communities, to ensure that the potential benefits of the Family Hubs model are realised.