A CUMBRIAN man has been recognised in the 2024 New Year's Honours list for services to children throughout his career.

Joshua MacAlister has been made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to vulnerable children.

He started his career as a secondary school teacher. Working with lots of children who were in care or who needed extra support led him to set up the social work charity Frontline ten years ago.

Frontline has since brought over 2,000 new people into the social work profession so that hundreds of thousands of children and families have a champion.

In 2021 Mr MacAlister was appointed by the government to lead a “once in a generation” independent review of children’s social care. This led to the government launching a new policy and £200million of new investment.

Mr MacAlister is also co-founder of SHiFT, an initiative to break the destructive cycle of children caught up in crime and he is the chair of Foundations, the national What Works Centre for children and families.

He is now standing to be the Labour Party candidate for the new Whitehaven and Workington parliamentary seat.

Speaking about receiving the honour,  Mr MacAlister said: “Receiving this is a real honour and a complete surprise.

"These awards go to individuals, but all the work I’ve done to improve lives for children has been a team effort.

“I would not have been able to launch Frontline ten years ago and build the charity without incredible colleagues or thousands of people prepared to start their career tackling social injustice through social work.

“The independent review I led was shaped by those that children’s social care exists to serve – children, parents, aunts and uncles, grandparents and care experienced adults. These people made me pause, laugh and cry and their stories continue to fuel me about the change that is needed.

“We’ve got our work cut out here in Cumbria and across England to make sure that the most vulnerable children get a fair chance. I’m looking forward to getting back to this work in 2024.”

ALL 2024 HONOURS

Anyone can nominate someone for a UK Honour through the 'open access' system and awards are given to people from all walks of life.

The final decision as to who receives an honour is first decided by an Honours Committee and their recommendations go to the Prime Minister and finally to HM The King for approval. The process can take up to 18 months with recipients of honours announced in HM The King’s New Year’s Honours List and Birthday Honours List.