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Children in Care: Safety

Answer

The department welcomes Become's report ‘Gone Too Far’ and its focus on getting the voices of those with care experience heard.

While some out-of-area placements are necessary to meet a child's individual needs or keep them safe, we know that living far from support networks can affect stability and wellbeing, disrupting relationships with family, friends and trusted professionals, undermining educational continuity and making it harder for children to maintain important community connections.

For some children, this can increase vulnerability to exploitation, sexual abuse and other forms of harm.

Moving a child away from their home area is a significant decision and must be approved by the Director of Children's Services, only when the move is in the child's best interests. Local authorities have ongoing duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked-after children, including through regular social worker oversight and a statutory requirement to notify the authority in which a child is placed.

The aim of the government's Enduring Relationships Strategy is for all children in care to have the support and stability they need to form and maintain healthy relationships throughout their lives.

Through the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, we are strengthening information sharing and multi-agency child protection arrangements and improving the response to child sexual exploitation and other extra-familial harms. We are also investing £560 million to expand children's homes and foster care capacity and developing regional care cooperatives to help more children, including girls at risk of exploitation and abuse, access safe, high-quality care closer to home.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

HL1962

Session

2026-27

Grouped for answer

Yes

Subjects

Children in care Safety Girls

Link

View this Written question on www.parliament.uk