Decision details

The Chair welcomed County Councillor Cosima Towneley, Cabinet Member for Children and Families, County Councillor Michael Green, Cabinet Member for Health and Wellbeing, Aby Hardy, Head of Education Improvement, and Nighat Parveen, Senior Manager Early Help, to the meeting.

The report provided an overview of the role and contribution of Family Hubs in supporting children aged 0-3 years. It also reviewed how Family Hub services had evolved to meet the needs of this age group and highlighted the early impact of those efforts on improving outcomes for young children. A presentation was also given, a copy of which is attached to the minutes. 

Comments and queries raised from the committee were as follows:

• Work had been done to engage hard-to-reach families by recruiting volunteers from the community, including oral health champions and male mental health supporters, to promote health messages. Additionally, communication with volunteer, community, and faith sectors helped disseminate information.
• Concerns had been raised about villages lacking public transport and, therefore, being unable to access services. It was noted that various bus services were free, but members were encouraged to contact officers if they were aware of any areas where this was not the case, to ensure no one was left behind.
• Concerns had also been raised about the overall take-up of services compared with the number of children being born, and whether this information could be collated and shared with the committee to identify any hard-to-reach families. It was noted that Family Hubs had strong connections with GPs, midwives, and other health services, ensuring families were referred to appropriate support networks at an early stage.
• There were plans to integrate registrar services within family hubs to increase accessibility and provide more information to the community. It was noted that positive feedback had been received from the Family Hubs where this service had already been implemented.
• The committee highlighted the need of ensuring information on nutrition and weight management was being provided by Family Hubs and it was noted that Family Hubs distributed a lot of information on this topic and that partner organisations would come in to deliver some of that content, depending on the nature and age of the children and young people they were working with. Additionally, a program called “Big Cook, Little Cook,” which focused on cooking healthy meals on a budget for families with limited disposable income, was highlighted as one of the services being offered.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Members and officers for the report and for answering the committees' questions.

Resolved: That the following recommendation be shared with the Cabinet Member for Children and Families:

(i)  That further figures relating to the take up of Family Hubs as well as the most recent Family Hubs Dashboard be circulated to the committee.