The government passed emergency legislation to relax and remove safeguards to children in care and on the edge of care on April 24, bypassing the usual 21-day consultation period and parliamentary scrutiny.
The controversial changes brought in via The Adoption and Children (Coronavirus)(Amendment) Regulations 2020, also known as Statutory Instrument 1445, include the relaxation of timescales and safeguards relating to fostering and adoption processes, the removal of timescales surrounding mandatory visits to looked-after children by social workers and the relaxation of expected standards of care in children’s home.
When quizzed on the amendments in parliament by Labour’s shadow minister for children and early years Tulip Siddiq in May, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said: “The sector had asked specifically to make sure there were some flexibilities that were made available to them.”
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