Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of foster and kinship carers that undertook training for those roles in 2017.

The information requested on the number of foster carers and kinship carers that undertook training in 2017 is not held centrally.

The statutory framework, Fostering Services Regulations 2011, clearly sets out that all foster parents, including kinship foster carers, must receive the training and development they need to carry out their role effectively. All foster parents are required to complete the Training, Support and Development Standards within 12 months of approval as a foster parent and maintain a training and development portfolio. Over and above this, it is up to local fostering service providers to determine what training their foster parents undertake in order to meet local need.