Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing funding to ensure that the Lifelong Links programme can be extended to all children in care.

The department is committed to helping children thrive and wants the best for every child and family. We know that a stable support network and loving relationships are crucial to supporting children in care and care leavers to thrive.

To support this, the department is currently funding 50 family finding, befriending and mentoring programmes, being delivered by 45 local authorities. These programmes will help children in care and care leavers to identify and connect with the important people in their lives and create safe, stable loving relationships. Of the 45 local authorities, 23 are delivering Lifelong Links as their family finding programme.

The family finding, befriending and mentoring programme is being evaluated and this will inform decisions about the future of the programme.