PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(19 November 2024)

Information on whether a looked after child is currently living in a placement that is not in line with their care plan is not held by the department. Information on the numbers of children looked after who were moved to a new placement during the reporting year ending 31 March 2024 and the reasons why the placement changed, including a change to or implementation of a care plan, is submitted by local authorities. This information was recently published on 14 November 2024 in the department’s statistical release and can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/fast-track/f2f7a002-bc22-40de-ada3-08dcedcfecfd.

The department is working to improve the data available about children’s social care, including making it more relevant to the experiences of children, young people and families. A core part of this work includes understanding the data needs of the children’s social care sector as a whole and identifying ways in which data gaps may be addressed over time. Addressing data gaps in children’s social care is a long term endeavour due to the need to agree data definitions and standards, as well as redesign local authority and departmental systems before rolling out nationally.