New scheme to support Dorset families gets £875k grant
Ten family hubs are going to be created across Dorset
Last updated 25th May 2022
Families across Dorset will benefit from a huge boost to funding for a project that is currently underway.
Dorset Council has been awarded £875,450 from the government’s Family Hubs Local Transformation Fund for the work it is carrying out on Family Hubs.
What are family hubs?
Family Hubs are a network of welcoming places and spaces for children, young people and their families where they will be able to chat without an appointment to get some help from a variety of services and take part in support groups or join in activities. Family Hubs will join up the support from all services in a local area, making it easier for families to know where to get help.
The first hub will be launched this autumn, but by the end of the project all families will have the opportunity to access a family hub through online services, activities in local communities and specially designed family hub buildings that will offer a wide range of help and support.
Councillor Andrew Parry, portfolio holder for children, education, skills and early help, said, "Our families tell us that they want to access help from professionals in welcoming spaces, with joined up support from the community. Our workforce tells us that they don’t have access to sufficient effective spaces for work with families and want greater opportunities to be in the same space as our professional partners to improve information sharing and support to the families we serve.
"The Family Hubs that we are creating will resolve both these things, meaning that we can offer our families a better service that our workforce and our partners feel is more efficient.
"To get a grant from the government to do all this is fantastic news – not only does it help financially, but it also shows that the government has recognised the great things we have achieved in Dorset so far and that it has the confidence in Dorset Council to carry on delivering against its commitments."
The grant fund, which had 84 applications from local authorities, has allocated a total of £12 million to no more than 12 schemes across the country. In awarding the grant, a spokesperson for the government said, ‘Your vision shows a clear commitment to developing the local service offer in line with the family hubs model framework, and we were very impressed with the quality of your bid.’
Cllr Parry added, ‘Family Hubs is one of the things recommended in the recently published independent review of children’s social care, so we are pleased that we are one of the first seven local authorities to benefit from funding.’
How will Dorset Council use the funding?
Dorset Council will use the money allocated to provide staff for the project, fund the repurposing of some sites and provide small grants to local, voluntary organisations that help with community engagement.
West Dorset MP Chris Loder has welcomed Dorset being chosen as one of seven local authorities for a share in a £12million fund to innovate the provision of family services and care needs.
Mr Loder said; “I have been continually making the case for Dorset to receive its fair share under the Government’s levelling up agenda. I am pleased to see the Government recognising the need in West Dorset to level up and improve the state of social services for those who need them here”.