£165 Million Fund for A Better Start in Life

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The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has announced it will launch a new £165 million fund that will improve the life chances of more than 10,000 of England’s most vulnerable babies.

The new £165m Fulfilling Lives: A Better Start initiative aims to deliver a step change in the use of preventative approaches to improve the life chances of children aged 0-3.

The funding will show, on a large scale, the benefits of a focused approach on language development, social and emotional development, and diet and nutrition in the very early years. The programme wants to demonstrate that re-designed services that focus on prevention:

  • give children the best possible start in life;                                                                                          
  • reduces later spending on costly social problems;
  • can be delivered, and permanently embedded, by committed and visionary voluntary sector, health and local authorities leaders and practitioners working together.

Programme Features:

  •  invest £30-£50 million in 3-5 areas each with a population of approximately 50,000 for up to 8 or 10 years;
  • each area progressively targets the entire population through ante- and post-natal assessment, so that the greatest support is given to the neediest 20-30 per cent of families;
  • each area runs a variety of programmes and initiatives to aid the key areas that will affect a child’s life and prevent harm, specifically: social and emotional development; language development; diet and nutrition.
  • each area redesigns its services for children and families so that:
  • primary prevention is at the heart of service delivery;
  • a ‘whole-family’ approach is taken to ‘get it right first time’
  • systems are responsive to changing needs and maximise uptake from those that need it most.

Who can apply?

In the first instance, Local Authorities will be asked to express an interest in their area being long-listed for further consideration.

Ultimately, the grants will be awarded to voluntary and community sector-led partnerships. The partnership will involve relevant local public agencies, including the local authority and local health agencies.

What next?

  • Letters will go to Local Authority Chief Executives and Directors of Children’s Services inviting them to express their interest in taking part in the Big Lottery Fund Early years initiative.
  • These expressions of interest will be reviewed by an expert panel; the lottery are expecting to invite approximately 30 LA areas to complete a stage one application.
  • Applications will be assessed to produce a short-list of 10 – 15 LA areas that will be awarded a development grant.
  • Final awards will be made to 3-5 areas with £30-£50 million each.
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Funding & Income