Policy may lack green paper status

The mooted green paper on looked-after children may turn out to be only a strategy document, campaigners believe.

The document, which has been expected for months, is likely to look mainly at the education of looked-after children.

Jim Goddard, secretary of the Care Leavers Association, said he would be disappointed if there was no green paper as there was a need to “keep the pressure up”.

“My concern is that we had a push a few years ago from the government to increase the qualifications of looked-after children and the progress on it has been minimal,” he said.

But Paul Fallon, co-chair of the Association of Directors of Social Services’ children and families committee, said the document only needed to be a green paper if primary legislation was required to enforce new measures.  The content of the document was the most important thing, he added.