Brighton & Hove City Council (BHCC) has launched a consultation on the development of Family Hubs which it says are set to help improve the lives of children and families throughout the city. The council was one of only seven local authorities in the country to be given up to £1 million government funding to set up the hubs to better integrate services for children of all ages and their families.
The consultation sets out what family hubs are, the vision for a hubs network in the city and then asks eight questions including what information, support, advice or guidance people would like from the hubs.
Further questions ask what barriers people may find to accessing the hubs and also if the person filling in the questionnaire would like to be part of future focus groups or engagement sessions.
Councillor Hannah Clare, chair of BHCC’s Children, Young People & Skills Committee, said: “We hope that Family Hubs will make a huge difference to how we deliver services to children and families who face barriers in the city.
“So it’s really important to us to hear from you to make sure we’re setting the hubs up in the best way possible for the families who will use them.”
The council says the hubs will have different professionals working together to help develop high quality, joined-up services from pregnancy to 19, and 25 if the young person has special educational needs or a disability (SEND).
Councillor Clare added: “Our vision of Family Hubs is that they will be a place where ‘families only have to tell their story once’ rather than be passed around different parts of the council. They will be an extension of our popular and successful children’s centres and Early Help services.
“You will also be able to access lots of different services through them like social care, education, mental health and physical health services.
“The hubs will help further our commitment to making Brighton & Hove a fairer city for everyone.”
Family Hubs have been successfully introduced in many areas across the country including Essex, Cambridgeshire and West Sussex, with more than 150 open across the UK. BHCC had to bid for the funding, with a total of 84 local authorities in the running, with the announcement made in May.
A government official stated: “Your vision shows a clear commitment to developing the local service offer in line with the family hubs model framework, and we were very impressed with the quality of your bid.”
The consultation can be found on the council’s consultations portal.
