Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what mechanisms are in place to ensure accountability for public sector bodies and organisations carrying out safeguarding functions on behalf of local authorities; and whether her Department plans to introduce new measures to improve transparency, oversight and consequences for procedural failures.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

‘Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026’ sets clear expectations for how organisations must safeguard children. Inspectorates and regulators are key to ensuring organisations follow their statutory duties. Ofsted inspects early years provision, schools, further education and skills providers, and all children’s social care services including children’s homes, fostering agencies and adoption services.

Joint Targeted Area Inspections are multi-agency inspections carried out by Ofsted, the Care Quality Commission, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services and HM Inspectorate Probation.

Out-of-school settings have a common law duty of care to take reasonable steps to prevent foreseeable harm, alongside other statutory obligations relating to Disclosure and Barring Service requirements and health and safety legislation.

DfE will provide a formal response to the call for evidence on safeguarding in these settings in due course, following ongoing stakeholder engagement.

The department is establishing a Child Protection Authority to strengthen the child protection response regardless of where harm takes place.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to review cases where foster carers and children may have been adversely affected by Local Authority Designated Officer investigations; and if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing a public inquiry into historic failures in the foster care system and related safeguarding procedures.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The local authority designated officer (LADO) is a local authority function. Local authorities are responsible for managing allegations against adults who work with children and the LADO plays a vital role in safeguarding children by overseeing the management of allegations made against adults who work with children in any capacity. To help ensure the LADO role is delivered consistently and effectively, we are working with the national LADO network to make operational guidance available. This guidance seeks to draw together current good practice to support a more consistent approach nationally.

The department has announced an ambitious reform programme to urgently address the sharp decline in foster carers and modernise fostering. The reforms establish a clear direction built on relationships, stability and trust, simplifying outdated rules, strengthening national recruitment, expanding regional collaboration and improving support.

Our primary metric will be the number of approved fostering places in local authorities and third sector providers, with the aim of creating an additional 10,000 fostering places by the end of this Parliament.

The fostering plan is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/renewing-fostering-homes-for-10000-more-children.

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department plans to introduce increased statutory rights and protections for foster carers, including safeguards against unsubstantiated allegations; and what assessment she has made of the potential impact of such reforms on the stability and wellbeing of children in foster care.

Answered by Josh MacAlister - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department for Education)

The department does not hold data centrally on the number of fostering placements at constituency level. Nationally, placement sufficiency remains under strain, which is why reforms are essential to renewing fostering and improving support for carers and children.

Found: 2026 THE SPEAKER’S STUDY Present: Mr Speaker (Chair) Sir Alan Campbell Marie Goldman Alberto Costa

Found: and reasons for their exclusion 1 Study Code [Reason] Aguiar, Luiza Borges, Politano, Carlos Alberto, Costa