Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what arrangements there are for the registration and regulation of private fostering agencies; whether there is a statutory basis for such registration and regulation; and whether other agencies and local authorities are informed of misconduct by an individual foster carer provided by a private fostering agency.

All independent fostering agencies (IFAs) are registered with Ofsted under the Care Standards Act 2000 and must meet the legal requirements set out in the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011. IFAs are inspected by Ofsted under the Social Care Common Inspection Framework (SCCIF) on a three-year inspection cycle.

Under the National Minimum Standards IFAs have a duty to ensure the welfare of the children in care and a duty to work effectively in partnership with other agencies concerned with child protection, such as the responsible authority, schools, hospitals and general practitioners.

Serious incidents must be reported by IFAs to Ofsted, including any serious complaints about an approved foster parent. Local authorities must notify the Child Safeguarding Practice Review panel, and by extension the department and Ofsted, within five working days of becoming aware of a serious incident. These incidents are where abuse or neglect is known or suspected.

If a foster carer’s approval to foster is terminated, a copy of the notice must be sent to the responsible authority for any child placed by another local authority, and to the relevant local authority if the foster carer lives outside the area of the fostering service.