Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report commissioned by the Local Government Association Profit making and risk in independent children's social care placement providers, published in January.

The government is clear that the needs of the child are paramount when making decisions about care placements. The child’s safety, suitability and the quality of a child’s placement in care is our priority. As at 31 March and 31 August 2019, 92% of Independent Fostering Agencies and 82% of the active and inspected private children’s homes were judged good or outstanding by Ofsted. We believe that a mix of provision can provide quality and increase placement options for local authorities.

The government is taking action to support local authorities in the provision of high quality social care. This includes investing part of our £200 million Children’s Social Care Innovation programme in three projects to improve the supply of placements, and investing an extra £1 billion of new funding for adult and children’s social care to support local authorities meet the rising demand and protect the most vulnerable in society. We have also committed to reviewing the system, so children receive the best possible care.