Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government whether they intend to meet representatives of with Barnardo’s to discuss how local authorities can work with partners to prevent the over-criminalisation of Black children in the care system.

The department considers charity sector colleagues to be key stakeholders in work taking place across the department, including on children’s social care reform, as outlined in 'Stable Homes, Built on Love'. The department regularly engages with the Chief Executive and Policy Leads from Barnardo’s on children’s social care policy, as well as their counterparts at Action for Children, The Children’s Society, National Children’s Bureau and NSPCC. The charity sector is also represented in a variety of reference groups on specific aspects of children’s social care policy.

The majority of children in care do not have any interaction with the criminal justice system. Offending rates for children in care are now at 2%, down from 5% in 2015.

The department has a national protocol in place on reducing the unnecessary criminalisation of looked after children and care leavers and is taking action on risk factors that can lead to criminal behaviour including through the department’s work to improve school attendance.

The department continues to work urgently across government and with local authorities to ensure that all vulnerable children, no matter their age or circumstances, are kept safe and receive the support they need.