Since December, we’ve been campaigning to influence a new law being discussed in the UK Parliament - the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill. This much-needed bill aims to improve the lives of children and how children’s social care works in England.
Earlier this year we worked with Ellie Chowns, a Green Party MP, to suggest two amendments to the bill, which were discussed in detail by MPs in the House of Commons. Our suggestions included giving foster carers more say in everyday decisions regarding the children and young people they care for (delegated authority) and extending the support young people get when they leave care (known as Staying Put). The bill then moved into the House of Lords in June.
In the House of Lords, we continued to push for our amendment on Staying Put and also called for a national register for foster carers and a strategy to better support them across the country.
Read more about these below.
Read our blog on the House of Commons stage
Staying Put extension
Following the government’s decision to decline our amendments on Staying Put during the House of Commons committee stage, we were delighted to be able to work with Lord Watson of Invergowrie (Labour) to re-table them in the House of Lords.
Our amendments seek to extend Staying Put provisions to age 25. The current provision allows young people to stay with their foster carer until the age of 21. However, we know that many young people and foster carers would like to continue in a Staying Put arrangements past the age of 21, but are not able to due to lack of funding.
Currently, the bill only includes the extension of Staying Close to age 25 which provides funding and support for young people to stay in residential care or independent living until they are 25. We believe this risks creating a two-tier system for young people who would wish to stay with their foster carers. A family environment is well-evidenced as the best place for young people to transition to independence and much more cost effective for the public purse.
We were really pleased the amendments received cross-party support from the Greens, Conservatives and Lib Dems. Barnardo’s, Become, NYAS and Catch 22 also signed up to our joint briefing, highlighting the importance of the amendments to key stakeholders in the children’s social care sector.
Unfortunately, although the minister recognised the importance of Staying Put, she said the government needs to prioritise filling gaps in support for young people in residential care transitioning to independent living, as they often have the most complex needs.
Following the minister’s decision, Lord Watson requested a meeting with her to discuss the amendments further. We are hopeful that this will be a productive meeting and will result in some progress towards extending Staying Put.
Read our joint briefing on Staying Put
Foster care register
We also worked with Lord Watson of Invergowrie to table an amendment to establish a national register for foster carers, similar to the existing register for social workers. Although the details are not decided, we think it should be a centrally held list of all foster carers and their availability, held by an independent regulatory body.
We believe that a national register would have many benefits including enhancing the safeguarding of children, improving placement matching and sufficiency, increasing portability of foster carers and improving the status and recognition of foster carers as professionals.
The Select Committee Inquiry into children’s social care in 2024 recommended the creation of a national register, and the Scottish Government have just introduced one in their Promise Bill, with Wales soon to launch a consultation on it. Our recent State of the Nations’ Foster Care 2024 survey found that almost half of foster carers said they support proposals to create a national register.
The amendment gained support from Lord Russell of Liverpool (Cross Bench), but it was withdrawn. However, we are pleased the government is considering the possible benefits and costs of a national register for foster carers as part of wider reforms and has committed to engage with fostering stakeholders to determine next steps.
Foster care strategy
We also supported an amendment from Lord Young of Cookham (Conservative) that proposed the creation of a national foster care strategy. Urgent action is needed to address the recruitment and retention crisis in foster care, with 5,000 more foster carers needed in England.
We want to see a national foster care strategy, as was published for kinship care last year, which fully addresses the crisis, including an implementation plan and research to help us fully understand why foster carers are leaving.
Unfortunately, this amendment was withdrawn, with the minister stating that the government will outline its plans for foster care in due course. She acknowledged the concerns raised during the debate and recognised the need to go further.
What’s next
We are pleased that the government has committed to a consultation on introducing delegated authority by default soon and is considering a national foster carer register as part of the wider foster care reform plans.
We will continue to work with Lord Watson and the government on extending Staying Put provisions.
Read our briefing for House of Lords committee stage
