Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help ensure that Regional Care Cooperatives work in structured collaboration with Independent Fostering Agencies to (a) facilitate shared sufficiency planning (b) maximise the use of existing foster homes and (c) secure quicker access to the most appropriate foster carers for children in care.

The department’s fostering plan, published on 4 February, focuses predominantly on strengthening local authority fostering provision, which has seen the biggest decrease in foster carers in recent years. At the same time, we want to see an expansion of third sector provision, as well as learning from private providers who achieve good outcomes for children and how their best practice can be spread across the system. Our call for evidence explores options to improve financial transparency across local authorities and independent fostering agencies (IFAs).

Wider reforms will also mean that local authorities, working together as regional care co-operatives, can co-ordinate their approach to private provision more effectively. This will mean they can plan and purchase support from IFAs, using collective negotiation to improve value for local government, and ensure that care meets the needs of children.