MPs launch inquiry into fostering

The inquiry will look at a range of issues including the recruitment and retention of foster carers and concerns over reductions in the number of available foster care places.

It will also examine the support for and treatment of foster carers, the involvement of young people in their foster care, and the increased role of independent fostering agencies.

The impact of the Staying Put initiative, which requires local authorities to support arrangements for fostered young people to remain living with their foster carers until the age of 21, will also be assessed.

News of the inquiry comes three months after the government announced it would undertake a national "stocktake" of fostering in order to understand how the system can be improved.

Neil Carmichael, chair of the education select committee, said: "There are more children in care than at any point since 1985 and there are very real concerns of a shortfall in the number of families available to foster and about the support offered to foster carers.

"The foster care system is in need of urgent attention and in this inquiry we want to examine issues around the recruitment and retention of foster carers, over the role of private sector providers, and the involvement which young people have in their care.

"Many people in the sector have been calling for a review of fostering for a while now and the government has responded by announcing a ‘stocktake' of fostering in England. But we do not have any details as to what this will look at, how long it will or what the outcomes would be.

"As a committee we want to identify the main areas where government needs to act to ensure the foster care system in England is fully equipped to provide young people with the loving, stable care they deserve."