Frustrated social worker brands govt's newly announced family hubs scheme 'shameful'

9 February 2023, 18:16

By Madeleine Wilson

This child protection social worker "despairs" at the government's newly announced family hubs scheme, saying that families have struggled "years and years" as a result of the Tories' austerity.

The retired child protection social worker, Angela, told Shelagh Fogarty that the government should feel "shame" for bringing in family hubs after "10 years of austerity".

She said the need to support families before this scheme was already obvious to people like herself: "We knew all about young dads and how inexperienced they would be and if you've ever seen the results of a shaking injury to a child you would know the need to teach them, you don't shake your baby.

"We had these programmes but now they talk about it as if they've discovered something."

The call comes after it was announced that 75 family hubs are to open in a £500 million plan which is set to focus on parent and infant bonds, feeding support and parental information.

Dame Andrea Leadsom, who is launching the scheme with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak spoke in Cornwall on Thursday and said the hubs would be “life-changing for people”.

Shelagh asked: "How high did your blood pressure get when I first started this hour Angela?"

"Despairing" of the plans, she replied: "I was pacing the floor!"

Angela later added: "I heard a gentleman talking about triple P, It's been around for years and years Shelagh - It's not new and it's effective and it works, there's no doubt about it. But just to know we had it all in place and then it was taken away, vandalised."