To ask Her Majesty’s Government what progress has been made in reducing the number of children from London boroughs placed in specialist care and foster homes in East Kent.

In response to a similar question asked by the noble Lord in June, it was announced that the Department for Education was due to consult on changing regulations to improve out of authority placement decisions by local authorities. In future the Department wants to see relevant information being shared between the placing authority and the authority in the area where the child is being placed. We are also proposing that decisions to place a child ‘out of authority’ should be approved by a senior official in the child’s responsible authority, who should be satisfied that the future placement provides safe and effective care suitable to the needs of the child. The consultation took place over twelve weeks, ending in September. My Department will publish its response to this with details of our proposed next steps in due course.