"It's quite worrying what's happening," she explains. "I'm not clear whether (the Education Secretary) Michael Gove sees anything beyond what goes on in the classroom. The whole emphasis on families, parents, fathers, and on young people particularly, is under great threat in the Department for Education (DfE)."
For Hughes, the future of families policy is personal. She was instrumental in driving through the Every Child Matters (ECM) reforms under the previous government and stepped down from her role as children's minister last year to spend more time with her own family.
Soon, she will start looking after her granddaughter one day a week, making her part of the growing legion of grandparent childcarers.
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