Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's report on Improving Permanence for Looked After Children, published in September 2013, what assessment she has made of the evidence from case studies cited on page 40 of that report, that local authorities can make significant financial savings through effective support for a child returning home from care; and if she will take full account of that evidence in her forthcoming response to the consultation on looked-after children.

In 2013 the Department for Education consulted on a range of proposals to improve permanence for looked after children. The Department will take into account a range of evidence, including the financial case for improved practice in local authorities, to deciding how best to proceed and will publish a formal response later this year. The Government has also commissioned the National Children’s Bureau and the Centre for Child and Family Research at Loughborough University to deliver an action research project. The project is working with frontline practitioners and families to support improved practice in returning children home, and includes a focus on developing cost-effective services that help support children to return home successfully from care.