Ambitious targets for Blackburn with Darwen's new family hubs - including the registering of births - have been outlined to senior councillors.

Children's services boss Cllr Julie Gunn told the authority's executive board that the four revamped children's centres in Little Harwood, Darwen, Livesey and Shadsworth had already achieved 13 of their 15 core services.

They are:

  • reducing parental conflict;
  • debt and welfare support;
  • oral health improvement/tooth brushing;
  • substance misuse support;
  • wider family health services;
  • a 'Supporting Families' programme;
  • housing support;
  • youth services;
  • special education needs support;
  • early language skills;
  • parenting programmes;
  • domestic abuse support; and
  • start for life universal services.

She said another key service - early childhood education and care and financial support for childcare - would be in place from April 2024

Cllr Gunn said the final provision for dispute resolution - support for out of court options (private law children cases) – would be introduced at a date yet to be confirmed.

She told the meeting on Thursday evening that other key services the council planned to introduce at the hubs included:

  • birth registration at Little Harwood Family hub by March 2024;
  • video conferencing appointments with Shelter to increase accessibility to housing support and advice – this will be initially at Little Harwood Family hub with the possible roll out to all hubs – by March 2024;
  • vaccination and immunisations for children aged nought to five in all family hubs and some children centres from October 2023; and
  • peri-natal mental health and parent infant commissioning process to begin in October 2023.

Additional services planned at other children's centres included a youth hub at Audley Children centre by July 2024 and youth activities at Wensley Fold Children Centre (evening and weekends) by January 2024.

Cllr Gunn said the borough had been in a good place to take advantage of the £3million of government cash it was allocated for family hubs in October 2021 as it had managed to maintain its network of eight former Sure Start children's centres.

In a report to the meeting she said: "The programme’s core objective is to improve the universal Start for Life offer and transform delivery of family services in local authority areas with the highest levels of deprivation and disproportionately poor health and educational outcomes to support the government’s levelling up ambitions.

"Blackburn with Darwen is transforming the way our early years and early help services are designed and delivered.

"We now have four localities delivering a family hub model, supporting children of all ages. We are improving how local services are delivered."

Conservative group leader Cllr John Slater welcomed the £3m of government cash and asked Cllr Gunn to provide him with data on how the hubs were delivering services.