Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to review cases where foster carers and children may have been adversely affected by Local Authority Designated Officer investigations; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a public inquiry into historic failures in the foster care system and related safeguarding procedures.

The local authority designated officer (LADO) is a local authority function. Local authorities are responsible for managing allegations against adults who work with children and the LADO plays a vital role in safeguarding children by overseeing the management of allegations made against adults who work with children in any capacity. To help ensure the LADO role is delivered consistently and effectively, we are working with the national LADO network to make operational guidance available. This guidance seeks to draw together current good practice to support a more consistent approach nationally.

The department has announced an ambitious reform programme to urgently address the sharp decline in foster carers and modernise fostering. The reforms establish a clear direction built on relationships, stability and trust, simplifying outdated rules, strengthening national recruitment, expanding regional collaboration and improving support.

Our primary metric will be the number of approved fostering places in local authorities and third sector providers, with the aim of creating an additional 10,000 fostering places by the end of this Parliament.

The fostering plan is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewing-fostering-homes-for-10000-more-children.