Numbers that will not reach anyone
Helplines still published elsewhere that have closed or never existed.
The short version
- Gingerbread's helpline closed on 1 April 2025. The old number is still printed on council directories and will not get you support.
- What works instead: Coram Family Lives 0808 800 2222, Contact 0808 808 3555, Cerebra 0800 328 1159, and Samaritans 116 123.
- Bliss, PANDAS and the National Autistic Society publish no phone helpline, whatever number you have been given. Barnardo's runs no general parenting line.
- Sleep Scotland did not close: it renamed to Sleep Action, reached by web form or email, with no phone number.
- There is no 111 service in Northern Ireland: use your area's GP out-of-hours number, and 999 for an emergency.
The rest of this page explains where this comes from. You do not have to read it tonight.
About 3 minutes to read
Numbers still circulating that will not reach anyone
These are the entries we most want you to read, because every one of them is still printed on council directories, NHS pages and parenting sites. A number that rings out at 3am is worse than no number at all.
| What you may have been given | What is actually the case | Use instead |
|---|---|---|
| Best Beginnings | Ceased to exist. Removed from the charity register on 7 November 2025, company dissolved 14 October 2025, and their website no longer resolves. | The Baby Buddy app is now run by Babyzone, charity 1198316 and SC054355. |
| Gingerbread helpline | Closed on 1 April 2025. The charity continues, the helpline does not. | Gingerbread's online information and groups. For a phone line, Coram Family Lives on 0808 800 2222. |
| A Bliss helpline number | Bliss has no telephone helpline. The number in circulation appears nowhere on their own site. | Email hello@bliss.org.uk or book a video call, Monday to Friday except bank holidays. |
| A PANDAS phone helpline | PANDAS publishes no phone helpline. Numbers appear on council directories and an NHS Wales page that we could not confirm against PANDAS themselves. | Free WhatsApp 07903 508334, or book a free callback through their website. |
| A National Autistic Society helpline | They no longer advertise a public helpline. Their only published number is an administrative line not open to the general public. | Contact on 0808 808 3555, freephone, which covers disabled children birth to 25 and includes sleep. |
| Sleep Scotland | Did not close. Renamed to Capella Charity, trading as Sleep Action. | sleepaction.org, by web form or sleepsupport@sleepaction.org. There is no phone number. |
| Family Lives, "24 hour helpline" | Now Coram Family Lives, and the hours are not 24 hours. The charity register's wording is stale. | 0808 800 2222, Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm and weekends 10am to 3pm. |
| Scope "Sleep Right" or "Sleep Solutions" | These appear to have closed and the links now fail. Both the National Autistic Society and the Down's Syndrome Association still link to them. | Contact on 0808 808 3555, or Cerebra on 0800 328 1159, for sleep and disability. |
| Family Included | The address now redirects to an online gambling site. Treat it as defunct, and do not follow it. | For dads and partners, see the section above. |
| Barnardo's, as a parenting helpline | Barnardo's runs specialist helplines only. There is no general parenting line. | Coram Family Lives or Family Action's FamilyLine. |
| The Samaritans email address | The UK email service is closing during 2026 and Samaritans have asked organisations to stop advertising it. | Call 116 123. Free, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. |
| Start for Life | Renamed to Best Start in Life. The old web address still resolves. | nhs.uk/best-start-in-life |
| The Fatherhood Institute, as support for a dad | It is a research and policy think tank with no helpline and no service for individual parents. | Andy's Man Club, PANDAS, APP's dads and co-parents groups, or Samaritans on 116 123. |
| "111" in Northern Ireland | There is no 111 service in Northern Ireland. | Your area's GP out-of-hours number, listed in the table above. 999 for an emergency. |
Keeping this page right
We checked every organisation, number, opening time and charity number on this page on 1 August 2026. Each number was found on the organisation's own website, and then the organisation was confirmed against the Charity Commission register, OSCR or Companies House.
Services still change. Helplines close, hours are cut, charities merge and rename. If you ring something here and it does not work, or the hours have moved, please tell us, and tell us which entry it was. We would much rather correct a page than leave a parent listening to a dead line at 3am.
Where we could not confirm something, we have said so on the entry rather than filling the gap with a plausible guess. That is why a few entries have hours missing: it is not an omission, it is that the organisation does not publish them.
Where this comes from
- Charity Commission register for England and Wales, every England and Wales charity number on this page.
- OSCR, the Scottish Charity Regulator, every SC charity number on this page.
- Cry-sis contact page, the Cry-sis number and hours, corroborated on the NHS colic page.
- The Lullaby Trust contact page, both Lullaby Trust lines and their hours.
- The Sleep Charity National Sleep Helpline, the helpline number, hours, call cost and the 12 month age rule.
- sleepaction.org and OSCR SC027560, the Sleep Action rename and the absence of a phone number.
- Coram Family Lives, the current number and hours, replacing the register's stale 24 hour wording.
- Gingerbread contact page, the helpline closure on 1 April 2025.
- Bliss support page, confirming there is no telephone helpline.
- National Autistic Society contact page, confirming there is no public helpline.
- Samaritans contact page, 116 123, call cost and availability.
- Babyzone Baby Buddy, where the Baby Buddy app went after Best Beginnings ceased to exist.
- Action for Children Parent Talk, the free online service that replaces the helpline people look for.
- OSCR SC027007, The Breastfeeding Network, behind the National Breastfeeding Helpline.
- Healthy Child Programme, health visiting ages 0 to 5, the five mandated reviews in England.
- NHS Best Start in Life, the renamed NHS parenting hub and its baby sleep section.
- Find a family hub, gov.uk, family hub coverage in England.
- NHS 24 and NHS inform, the Scottish phone routes.
- Parent Club, Scottish Government sleep information.
- 111 Wales, the Welsh phone route and its availability.
- Flying Start programme, Welsh Government, enhanced health visiting for under fours in some areas.
- nidirect GP out-of-hours service, every Northern Ireland area number and the confirmation that there is no 111 service.
- FamilySupportNI, the Northern Ireland services directory whose phone line costs 70p per minute plus access charge.
Last checked 1 August 2026. This page is general information, not medical advice. If you are worried about your child, speak to your health visitor or GP.