After a decade of being prioritised by policymakers under the Blair, Brown and Cameron administrations, support for parents largely dropped off the political radar in the second half of the last decade. The decline was epitomised by the loss of Sure Start children's centres across England, with analysis by the Sutton Trust showing 1,000 had closed and hundreds more had services reduced since their 2010 peak.
Recent recognition of the need for universal and targeted support to be available for new parents when they are struggling – particularly in light of rising pressures on families from the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis – has led to a resurgence in interest among policymakers. This has led to extra investment in infrastructure to deliver a wide range of support for families through the family hubs initiative and a rebranding of the Troubled Families programme to focus more on parenting support than addressing child behaviour.
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