Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether foster parents are assessed for their suitability as permanent guardians of a child after they take a child into their care.

Permanence provides an underpinning framework for all social work with children and their families. Every looked-after child must have a care plan which includes a ‘plan for permanence’. Permanence can take the form of a successful return to the child’s family, long-term foster care, adoption or special guardianship.

In order to improve practice in instances where the best permanence option for children is to remain looked-after, the government amended regulations in April 2015 to introduce ‘long term foster care’ as a distinct placement type. In cases such as these, statutory guidance is clear that the local authority should assess the ability of the identified foster carer to care for the child (this may be the foster carers currently looking after the child, or new carers who are best able to meet the child’s needs). The statuary guidance is published online at: www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416720/Stat_Guidance_Permanence_2015.pdf