Vox Pop: Should foster carers' rights be better protected by law?

YES: Kevin Williams, chief executive, Tact

The recent case of Raymond Bewry highlights a significant issue for the sector. Foster carers are professionals looking after some of the most vulnerable members of society.

Despite being recognised as part of the workforce by the Children's Workforce Development Council, they are considered self-employed, and do not therefore enjoy the same employment rights, such as union representation, that many of us take for granted.

The recruitment and retention of top-quality foster carers is crucial if we are to give children in care the start in life they deserve. They should be treated as a special interest group and given enhanced employment rights.

YES: John Chowcat, general secretary, Aspect

A civilised society should invest regularly and substantially in the training and systematic support for - and the professional standing of - people who volunteer to foster children.

This is particularly true in the wake of the Baby Peter case and today's context of a growing number of children placed in care. Foster carers deserve clearly defined rights, equal to those enjoyed by other professions, to properly protect and advance their legitimate interests. It is no longer acceptable in the modern world for these basic rights to be denied.

The government's planned charter for foster carers should bring their rights into the 21st century.

YES: Robert Tapsfield, chief executive, Fostering Network

Foster carers are very vulnerable precisely because their rights are not fully protected at present. They must have the right to be represented in meetings that affect their future, the right to be heard, and the right to full and transparent processes.

Foster carers should be treated as equal members of the team around a child, they must be involved in all meetings about the child, and treated with respect for the important role they play. If their rights were protected in law it would make it much more difficult for fostering services to make sudden changes to foster carers' working conditions without proper consultation.

YES: Mike Cain, employment solicitor, Russell Jones & Walker

Foster carers' rights should be improved and the best way of securing this improvement is the clarification of their rights as "workers".

Workers, while not employees, have a number of important rights, one of which is being able to challenge detrimental treatment they receive for having raised issues of legality and propriety within their workplace.

Foster carers dedicate themselves to working at the sharp end of the state's attempt to look after and represent children in need and are therefore best placed to raise concerns about how people, and the system, might be harming those children.