Dr Allison Gardner

My hon. Friend quite rightly points out the complexities and histories of the issues that we face, which we need to solve with a holistic approach. In the absence of amazing services such as Sure Start, mentioned by my hon. Friend the Member for Stoke-on-Trent North (David Williams), the predominant policy route has been to fund reactive services that reach families only at crisis point. Not only is that incredibly costly, but it results in so many children with developmental delays or safeguarding concerns going unnoticed until it is far too late. Early years services provide a lifeline to so many families; in their absence, inequalities have risen and our children have suffered. Stoke’s children deserve better. I am deeply grateful to the Minister, who is in her place and who has agreed to have a meeting with me to discuss the difficult problems that we wish to solve. The Government are absolutely working hard to address those. As I said, I am incredibly pleased that this Government are expanding the early years offer through the Best Start family hubs model. I am so grateful that the Government have committed to further support the family hub in Normacot, which the community has fought so hard to save, but families in Meir also deserve a Best Start family hub. Residents in Meir are proud of where they live, but they are aware of the challenges in their community, and they too deserve support. Children in Meir would benefit hugely from a centre in their neighbourhood. We know what works. We know that high-quality early years education and support networks for families can completely transform a child’s life chances. We know that early intervention is far more effective and affordable than trying to fix problems later down the line. We need policies that improve neonatal and post-natal health, provide parents with the knowledge and support to give their children the very best start and provide children with support to achieve their early learning and development goals. I am therefore so grateful for the expansion of early years support through the Best Start family hubs and our targets for early years development under the plan for change. This Government will bring about much-needed change for children across the country, and it is critical that that investment is received in Stoke-on-Trent South.