Liverpool City Council expands Family Hub Network to support more families across the city

Liverpool City Council has taken another significant step in its commitment to supporting families by launching three additional Family Hub networks across the city.

With these new additions, Liverpool now has a total of five Family Hubs, expanding access to vital services and resources for families in need.

Following the successful launches in Clubmoor, Ellergreen Children’s Centre, and Speke, the new Family Hubs are based within existing Children’s Centres in Picton, Granby, and Fountains.

These hubs will serve families in the wards of Edge Hill, Smithdown, Arundel, Toxteth, Greenbank Park, Princes Park, Kirkdale East, Kirkdale West, and Waterfront North.

The launch of the new Family Hubs was celebrated with a special invitation-only Play Day Event, supported by the BBC’s Tiny Happy People initiative. Families currently utilising Children’s Centres, as well as Council Leader Cllr Liam Robinson and Family Hub lead Cllr Lila Bennett, attended the event, marking the beginning of a new chapter in family support services in Liverpool.

Funded by the Department for Education, the Family Hub model aims to provide enhanced support for families with children aged from 0 to 19 years, or up to 25 years if a young person has special educational needs or disabilities. This expansion builds upon the existing services offered by Children’s Centres, extending support to older children and youth services.

In addition to supporting children and young people, Family Hubs also offer assistance to adults, serving as a one-stop shop for a range of services including debt advice, domestic abuse support, and access to digital resources.

Liverpool City Council has made a commitment to provide every family in the city with access to this enhanced level of support by March 2025, securing £4 million of central government funding to achieve this goal.

Cllr Lila Bennett, Liverpool’s lead member for Family Hubs, said: 

“We’re so pleased that we have now launched a further three hubs in the city.

“Families all across Liverpool will know about the exceptional support that our Children’s Centres have given over many years and the Family Hub networks are set to expand on that by extending the offer of support up to the ages of 19 or 25 if a young person has SEND.

“By using our brilliant Children’s Centres we can hit the ground running making sure that families all across the city can get the right support at the right time. 

“As always, our thanks go to our partners who work so hard alongside us. They have helped make our Children’s Centres the valued parts of the community that they are and I have no doubt that they will be every bit as important in doing the same for the Family Hubs.”

Alison Williams, Delivery Lead for Healthy Children and Families, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside (Liverpool Place), said:

“NHS Cheshire and Merseyside is delighted to be working with colleagues in the council, as they launch the next three Family Hubs in our city.

“These Hubs will strengthen our local offer to families, and will build on an existing, trusted network of services that we know make a huge difference to so many people. Combining health and social care pathways in community-based facilities, means that we can reach so many more families and improve their experiences and outcomes.”

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