Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate she has made of the number of children moved between care placements in each local authority in 2021-22; and how many children were moved more than once per authority.

Information on the number of looked-after children who stayed in one placement during 2021/22 and the number who moved at least once can be found in the attached table.

Figures on the number of looked-after children who changed placements three or more times during a one year period can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/53b32118-528e-4015-777b-08dab100bfc2. This data is for the year ending 31 March 2018 to the year ending 31 March 2022.

All placement decisions are subject to the duty in Section 22 of the Children’s Act 1989 that the placement is the most appropriate way to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare. The department needs a range of options for care placements and support that reflects the diverse needs of children in care and care leavers.

Around 70% of looked-after children are placed with foster carers. For many children who cannot live with their birth parents, foster care offers them the opportunity to experience a stable environment. Looked-after children whose first placement in 2021/22 was with foster carers or placed for adoption were least likely to have more than two placement moves during the year compared with those in other settings.

Recognising the urgency of action in placement sufficiency, the department will prioritise working with local authorities to recruit more foster carers. This will include pathfinder local recruitment campaigns that build towards a national programme, to help ensure children have access to the right placements at the right time. As the Care Review recommends, the department will focus on providing more support throughout the application process to improve the conversion rate from expressions of interest to approved foster carers.

Kinship carers are a vital part of our society and play an important role in supporting a child’s development. Councils can offer discretionary financial support to kinship carers. Councils can offer discretionary financial support to kinship carers. We are rapidly working up an ambitious and detailed implementation strategy in response to the reviews and will publish early this year.

In recognition of rising costs, the government is also providing over £37 billion to help families, targeted to support the most vulnerable.