Source · Select Committees · Education Committee
Recommendation 6
6
Accepted in Part
Commit to making Families First permanent and restore early intervention funding to 2010 levels.
Recommendation
The Department for Education must commit to making the Families First Partnership programme permanent if it demonstrates a positive impact. The Government must ensure that a significant majority of the new funding announced in the Spending Review is allocated to early intervention programmes and, in future, work towards bringing the level of funding back to 2010 levels, taking into account changes in the population since then. (Recommendation, Paragraph 19)
Government Response Summary
The government commits to increasing funding for the Families First Partnership Programme by £300 million over two years (2026-28), continuing £523 million investment annually until 2028-29, and allocating an additional £18 million for 2025-26, with grant conditions ensuring use for preventative services.
Government Response
Accepted in Part
HM Government
Accepted in Part
This Government is committed to investment in prevention. We announced in the Spending Review that funding for the Families First Partnership Programme will be increased by £300 million over the next two years (2026–27 and 2027–28), as part of the £555 million investment in children’s social care from the Transformation Fund. We also confirmed that the £523 million invested in 2025–26 will continue in each year of the spending review period, until 2028–29. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will set out details on the distribution and further funding for the programme through the Local Government Finance Settlement later this year. On 8 August 2025 we announced an additional £18 million of investment in 2025–26 to support local authorities and Safeguarding Partners to implement the reforms. This is in addition to the £523 million invested in 2025–26 which doubled direct investment in preventative spend. Funding for the Families First Partnership Programme is issued through the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) and is subject to grant conditions. These conditions ensure that funding is used specifically for the implementation and delivery of preventative services within the programme.