Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many of the 13,660 children looked after in kinship foster care on 31 March 2024 were subject to (a) a full care order, (b) an interim care order and (c) a voluntary arrangement under Section 20 of the Children Act 1989.

Information on the number of children looked-after in foster placements with relatives or friends by legal status is shown in the table below.

Number of children in England in foster placements with relatives or friends at 31 March 2024 by legal status

1. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10.
2. An additional 70 children were in foster placements with relatives or friends in other types of placement. These other placements include short term breaks, placement orders granted, police protection orders, emergency protection orders and child assessment orders.
3. Historical data may differ marginally from data that has been published in previous questions on this theme. This is mainly due to the implementation of minor amendments and corrections sent by some local authorities after the publication date of previous materials.

The latest information on children looked-after in foster placements with relatives or friends under all legal statuses, relating to the year ending 31 March 2024, was published on 14 November 2024 in the annual statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoptions’ at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2024.