Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to confirm which local areas have been selected for the families first for children pathfinder scheme.

The Families First for Children pathfinder will work with up to 12 local areas to co-design and deliver end to end service reform, implementing new Family Help services, child protection arrangements and support for kinship care. This will deliver the department’s future vision for how we want to work with children and families in a select number of areas

The department will start to work with early adopters in spring 2023. In September 2023, we will launch the first wave of Pathfinders, working with three local areas and up to nine more local areas in the second year. Further information on the selection of the local areas will be available shortly.