News

Lord Laming has been announced as the chair of the government’s new working group on placement reform for children in care.
 
The group is one of four to be set up to take forward ideas in last week’s green paper, Care Matters. The other three will examine the future of the care population, the idea of social care practices, and best practice in schools in relation to looked-after children.
 
Laming’s group, whose other members are yet to be announced, will cover proposed changes to the care system including how a tiered foster care system could work in practice.

Barnardo’s chief executive Martin Narey will chair the group on the future of the care population, which will look at whether there will be fewer children in care in the future and what sort of children should be in care system.
 
The group looking at ways to ensure that all children in care receive the best possible education will be chaired by Dame Pat Collarbone, executive director of development at the Training and Development Agency for schools.

 
The contentious proposal to develop independent social care practices that would be commissioned by local authorities to undertake work with children in care will be examined by the fourth group, chaired by Julian Le Grand, a professor at the London School of Economics and former Downing Street health adviser.