MINISTER for Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care, Dame Andrea Leadsom chose Thurrock to launched a new government campaign supporting new parents and their babies.

Dame Andrea made a visit today (Thursday, 21 March)to a Brighter Futures family hub in Tilbury.

She joined Thurrock Council's Deputy Leader, Cllr Deb Arnold, and parents and children at Tilbury Family Hub in London Road to hear their stories and find out how the family hubs support families.

The event coincided with the launch of Start for Life's If They Could Tell You campaign, which aims to support new parents as they nurture their bond with their babies to boost their future mental health and early childhood development.

Services including the midwifery clinic and parenting support groups and programmes were showcased by specialist staff at the hub during the visit.

Find out more about Family Hubs in Thurrock at: thurrock.gov.uk/family-hubs. More information about Start to Life is available online.