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The government will pilot the regional commissioning of placements for looked-after children from September.

The pilots will be funded for this financial year and then a decision will be taken about further funding.

The Department for Education and Skills has received bids to be a pilot from every region in England and the winners will be notified this month, said Ben Arora, head of commissioning and market management at the DfES.

Pilots of regional commissioning units, to commission services on behalf of local authorities, were promised in last autumn's Care Matters green paper. It claimed they could improve placement choice for looked-after children and value for money by combining councils' buying power.

Further information
Department for Education and Skills

Care Matters green paper