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Cooper pledges £500m to bring back Sure Start health services to all 1,000 family hubs by 2028

From the Newshound archive · first published 30 September 2026.

Yvette Cooper is set to announce a £500m plan to open up to 1,000 family hubs across England by 2028, with aides privately calling it "Sure Start 2.0.
Yvette Cooper is set to announce a £500m plan to open up to 1,000 family hubs across England by 2028, with aides privately calling it "Sure Start 2.0.

Health Secretary Yvette Cooper will use the Labour conference in Liverpool to unveil a £500m plan to restore Sure Start-style health services, with a pledge to have up to 1,000 family hubs operating across England by 2028. The "Healthy Babies" programme will give parents access to midwives, health visitors, infant feeding support and mental health services. At present, family hubs in over half of all local authorities offer no health services whatsoever.

Aides have labelled the plan "Sure Start 2.0," a nod to the original scheme Tony Blair's government launched in 1998 and which was largely dismantled by Tory cuts after 2010.

The earliest centres are due to open from April 2027, with the rollout reaching all local authorities in England within two years.

Cooper is expected to declare the programme 'one of the Labour Party's greatest achievements restored to families throughout the land.'

MoreThe TelegraphSure Start-style health services to be extended to all parentsDaily MailParents will be offered support under plans to set up 'one-stop shops'The GuardianHealthy Babies programme to be expanded across EnglandEvening StandardCooper pledges revival of ‘one of Labour’s greatest achievements’The Irish NewsCooper pledges revival of ‘one of Labour’s greatest achievements’ – Sure Start - The Irish NewsdoctorsSure Start-style health services to be rolled out more widelyNursery WorldHealth minister commits to a return of Sure Start services in every Family Hub - Nursery World
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