Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to her Department's statistical release entitled Children looked after in England including adoptions, last updated 14 November 2024, how many children that were looked after in (a) relative and (b) friend foster placements on 31 March 2024 had also been in (i) an unrelated foster placement, (ii) another relative or friend placement, (iii) a children's home and (iv) other provisions for looked-after children.

The latest figures on children looked after who were cared for in a relative or friend foster placement by age, gender and ethnicity and at local authority level are shown in the attached tables. The department does not hold the data broken down separately into a) relative and b) friend foster placements, so we cannot provide this more detailed breakdown. Data has been provided for children looked after as at 31 March 2024.

Full information on the former placement arrangements of children looked after who are in a relative or friend foster placement is not held in the form requested. Due to the way in which the data is held, analysts in the department would not be able to provide the information requested without exceeding the cost threshold applicable to central government.