Breaking down barriers to opportunity
Labour is breaking down barriers to opportunity, giving every child the best start in life through high-quality early education and giving more families access to childcare.
Our work so far
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Best Start in Life
Rolling out free breakfast clubs
Labour has delivered on its manifesto promise to roll out free breakfast clubs – with two million meals already served to school children across England. The programme is boosting children’s life chances and parents’ work choices – helping kids start their day ready to learn, and saving parents an estimated £450 a year.
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Best Start in Life
Free school meals expanded to 500,000 more children
We have extended entitlement to free school meals to over half a million more children – a historic step that will lift 100,000 children out of poverty and save parents £500 a year. It’s part of Labour’s plan to break down barriers and give every child the best start in life.
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Family Security
4,000 new school-based childcare places this September
We’re delivering more choice for working parents, with 4,000 new school-based childcare places coming this September – rising to up to 6,000 across 300 projects in the first phase of the rollout. Thousands of families will also benefit from 30 hours of Government-funded childcare, saving parents an average of £7,500 a year and helping more mums and dads get back to work.
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Best Start in Life
Creating 1,000 Best Start Family Hubs
Labour is backing hard-working parents to make sure they benefit from more early help by creating up to 1,000 new Best Start Family Hubs. Building on the legacy of Sure Start, these one-stop-shops will offer parents not only crucial connections with other families, but also the health, education and wellbeing support they need. Backed by over £500 million, the hubs will roll out in every local authority in England by April 2026 and will give half a million more children the support they need to thrive.
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Family Security
£1 billion in employment support
Labour is delivering on our plan to get Britain working – creating good jobs and growth, rebuilding the NHS so people can get back to health and back to work, boosting job security and tackling the root causes of economic inactivity. We’re investing a record £1 billion a year in tailored employment and health support by the end of this Parliament, which is four times more than the last Conservative Government. This personalised support will help people, especially those with health conditions, return to work with security and support.
Why this is important
Opportunity is at the core of Labour’s values.
Boosting life chances, tackling the scar of child poverty, raising school standards, and striving for economic security for families have been defining pursuits of every Labour Government.
Through our Plan for Change, Labour is focused on breaking the unfair link between family background and future success, and giving all children the best start in life.
Check out what else we've done to break down barriers to opportunity:
Plan for Change
Our Plan for Change sets out ambitious but achievable milestones that will be reached by the end of this Parliament as we drive forward towards delivering on our key national missions, making real improvements to the lives of working people.
Built on the foundations of economic stability, secure borders and national security, this is what Labour will deliver by the next election: