Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what action they will take in response to the report by the National Audit Office Managing children's residential care, published on 12 September.

The department welcomes the National Audit Office's (NAO) report and its recommendations. Many of the report’s themes chime with the action already being taken as part of the government's reform programme.

The department is reforming children’s social care (CSC) with a £2 billion investment this Parliament which will enable local authorities to prioritise prevention and keep more families together safely, reducing the number of children needing care.

We have introduced the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which will give us more powers to regulate the broken care market.

The department’s investment and legislation will transform care. We will recruit more foster carers, build children’s homes with the right support in the right places, innovate to support those with complex needs and regulate to ensure safety and quality of provision. The introduction of Regional Care Cooperatives will enable local authorities to better plan, forecast and commission places and negotiate with private providers, ensuring they can provide the placements children need at a sustainable cost to taxpayers.

The department welcomes the important insight of the NAO and will continue to reflect on how to bring about the change needed to tackle the challenges across the CSC system.