Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many looked after children were cared for in a family and friends foster placement by (a) age and (b) ethnicity as of 31 March 2022.

The number of looked-after children who were cared for in a relative or friend foster placement from 2018 to 2022 is published in the table ‘A2 - Children looked after on 31 March by placement, in England, 2018 to 2022’ in the statistical release, which can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions. Figures for earlier years are available from previous statistical releases and can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/statistics-looked-after-children.

The latest figures on looked-after children who were cared for in a relative or friend foster placement by age and ethnicity and at local authority level are shown in the attached tables.

Full information on the former placement arrangements of looked-after children who are in a relative or friend foster placement is not held in the form requested. Due to the way in which the data is held, the information is not readily available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The number of children ceasing to be looked after because (a) they returned home to live with parents or another person with parental responsibility, (b) are subject to a special guardianship order or (c) a residence order or child arrangement order was granted in the year ending 31 March 2022, broken down by local authority can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.

The table requested can be accessed here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c2aacc3e-17eb-46fa-9372-08dacc5b2c16.