Cash boost for family support services

Support services for families are to benefit from a cash boost
of more than £22 million, children’s minister Margaret
Hodge announced this week.

The parenting fund, worth £15.5 million, will be managed by
the National Family and Parenting Institute. It will be made
available to local and national projects providing parenting
support.

Hodge also announced that new projects would be given £2.7
million funding over the next three years to provide support to
parents through the Family Support Grant and £4.9 million will
be dedicated to organisations providing marriage and relationship
support to couples.

The minister also launched a report which pulls together
findings from a research programme on parental support involving 14
studies. According to Hodge, the findings highlight the importance
of joined-up integrated services that enable parents to take
control of their problems.

She concluded that the voluntary sector would play a “key
role” in providing specialist support to parents who often
preferred to turn to voluntary organisations for advice.