Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government how many children looked after by local authorities in England and Wales were permanently placed with relatives or connected people resident outside the UK in each of the past five years.

The number and location of looked after children in England who were permanently placed outside the UK in the last 5 years is not collected centrally by the department.

A child arrangement order, special guardianship or adoption order could be used by local authorities in England to place looked-after children in countries outside the UK when that is in the best interest of the child.

The Department does not collect information for children looked after by Welsh local authorities. This is the responsibility of the devolved administration.