North East granted almost £10m to support family hubs across Newcastle, Gateshead and beyond

Eight local authorities across the region have been portioned a total of nearly £10m to boost their family and children’s service. It is expected the cash will be funnelled through local authority’s family hubs to help continue services. 

Gateshead Council’s cabinet member for children and young people, count Gary Haley said: “A priority of this council is to give every child the best start in life, and we welcome this funding, which will help us in achieving this ambition. Children’s early years are crucial to their development, health and life chances. That is why we have worked hard to establish our family hubs across the borough, so parents and families have access to the services which are vital in guiding parents and supporting children’s development. 

“Every parent should be able to access such services on their doorstep and I am pleased with the progress we are making here in Gateshead to ensure this is the case.” 

Childhood and family support in Gateshead includes antenatal classes, health visits, baby and toddler groups and early education and children care. Gateshead Council’s children services were most recently graded by Ofsted as ‘Good’, with improvements required in responding to youths presenting as homeless. 

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The grants per council are as follows: 

Hartlepool – £939,800

Middlesbrough – £1,102,500

County Durham – £1,684,300

Northumberland – £1,281,300

Newcastle Upon Tyne – £1,376,200

South Tyneside – £1,034,200

Sunderland – £1,294,000

Gateshead – £1,129,100

 Around £57m of the total fund has been granted to 75 local authorities, all of which experiencing the highest levels of deprivation. The cash will also support ‘Start for Life’ services, specifically helping families, from pregnancy until the age of two. 

Gateshead MP Mark Ferguson said: “Setting every child up for the best start in life is a top priority for this government. All the evidence shows that the building blocks for life are laid in a child’s first two years. Those building blocks are crucial to their development, health and life chances.