Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the safety of children in local authority care; and if his Department will take steps to ensure the safety of children by ensuring that (a) all settings are regulated by Ofsted, (b) children are not placed in care outside their local authority area due to lack of appropriate placements and (c) children are cared for by more than two staff members at any one time.

Local authorities have statutory duties to meet the needs of children they look after, and to keep them safe. The government is committed to ensuring that all placements provide children and young people with the care and support they need.

The vast majority of looked after children live with foster carers or in a children’s homes. Foster carers and children’s’ homes are already subject to robust regulatory checks and balances by Ofsted, to ensure that they meet the needs of children they accommodate and keep them safe. A growing number of older children live in supported accommodation, often termed ‘unregulated provision’ because it is not currently registered and inspected by Ofsted.

The department will invest over £142 million across the next three years to fund the introduction of new mandatory national standards, Ofsted registration and inspection for these providers. This will mean that all placements that accommodate looked after children and care leavers up to 18 will now be regulated by Ofsted.

Where local authorities place a young person out of area, there are clear statutory requirements in place to safeguard young people. These require the placing authority to inform the host authority before confirming the placement and to check whether the host authority is aware of any concerns about the setting. The statutory responsibilities for looked after children remain with the placing local authority and Director of Children’s Services who must approve all distant placements, and Ofsted can challenge where they believe a poor decision has been made.

In October 2021, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced £259 million capital funding which will provide high quality homes for some of our most vulnerable young people, keeping them closer to families, schools, and health services.

When local authorities make a placement decision, they are responsible for ensuring the placement is suitable. This includes ensuring staff who will be looking after the child at the setting are appropriately trained and have the skills needed to meet the needs of the child and keep them safe. It is not in accordance with the law to place a looked after child in a setting that does not meet their needs and keep them safe, and it is unacceptable for any child or young person to be placed in such a setting.