Children in Care: Illegal Accommodation

Lord Wood of Anfield Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2026 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Wood of Anfield]

To ask His Majesty’s Government what steps they are taking to end the use of illegal accommodation for children in care and secure sufficient regulated care.

[Baroness in Waiting/Government Whip (Baroness Blake of Leeds) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government are clear: unregistered placements must stop. Powers in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill will allow Ofsted to issue monetary penalties, enabling faster action against unregistered providers. We are investing £560 million in capital funding up to 2029-30 to increase appropriate registered placements, including through registered regional care co-operatives. We will strengthen kinship care and invest £2.4 billion in the families first partnership programme to support families, keeping them together, thereby reducing residential demand that is driving reliance on unregistered placements.

[Lord Wood of Anfield (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for that Answer. It should shame all of us in this country that for many years, our system for protecting the most vulnerable children has been and is pushing hundreds of them each year into unregistered homes—illegal homes that are not inspected. Addressing this, as the Minister says, is very complex: it involves kinship care and resource regulation. I welcome the Government’s commitment to clamping down on the growing unregulated sector. What are the Government’s plans specifically to expand foster care, which is a crucial part of alleviating the pressure on local authorities that leads to the growth in unregulated places?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I thank my noble friend for all the work he does in this area, regularly raising its profile. I assure him and noble Lords that places in loving foster homes for children who need them is one of our top priorities. In February, we published an ambitious fostering action plan, setting out urgent steps to reverse the decline in foster care numbers and reform the system. This involves investment of more than £88 million over the next two years and includes England-wide action, enhanced regional collaboration, a £12.4 million intervention fund and investment in foster care support and retention.