Cooper said: ‘I can announce we will bring back Sure Start health services into every family centre, reaching up to 1000 family hubs over the next two years.'

Sure Start was wound down by the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition which took office in 2010 after being created by the Blair Government in which Cooper was a health minister in 1998.

Sarah Muckle, Association of Directors of Public Health spokesperson for Children and Young People and director of public health for Essex County Council, said the Sure Start announcement marked a ‘significant step towards making sure that all families, regardless of where they live, are able to access the right information and guidance during this critical period of development'.

Violence against women

Cooper also announced the Government would for the first time take ‘a public health approach to violence against women and girls, working with survivors, charities, local government, and the NHS to set out how to treat this like the disease that it is'.

The secretary of state announced an almost £50m roll out of support for new specialist referral services from GPs for women and men who are victims of domestic abuse.

Greg Fell, president of the Association of Director of Public Health and Director of Public Health for Sheffield City Council, said the approach recognised ‘that, as well as supporting people experiencing harm right now, we need to improve the factors in our environment that shape how we live, grow, and work, including how relationships between men and women are perceived'.

National collective pension scheme

In another first, Cooper announced a national collective pension scheme for workers in the care sector.

UNISON head of social care Gavin Edwards said: ‘A collective approach would deliver fairer and more secure futures for workers when they get older.

‘And it'll make the sector more attractive as a career. The Government now has to work with unions to make this a reality.'

Natalie Grayson, GMB national officer, said the pension scheme was ‘fantastic news for our dedicated care workers'.

She added: ‘This pension pot, along with the Fair Pay Agreements, show this a Government that is finally working to address the poverty pay that has blighted the car sector for years.'

Lee Peart is editor of Hemming Group’s Healthcare Management magazine.