To ask the Minister of Health whether he intends to undertake any work focused on expanding fostering services, similar to the plan published in England on 3 February 2026.

The ‘Renewing Fostering: homes for 10,000 more children’ report was published by the Department of Education (DfE) in England on 3 February 2026 along with a consultation on proposed changes to the assessment and approval of foster carers and improvements to the handling of allegations of abuse. DfE has also published a call for evidence for further improving the foster care system.

Many of the themes identified in the report are also relevant to Northern Ireland, including the need for improvements in; recruitment and retention of foster carers, regional collaboration, data collection and support for foster carers. Many of these themes were reflected in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services, which made several recommendations in relation to foster care.

As part of the Children’s Social Care Services Strategic Reform Programme, established in response to the issues which led to the Independent Review, there is a wider programme of reform underway to address a range of challenges across children’s social care which includes provision of foster care. This has resulted in a number of specific actions which it is anticipated will contribute to the expansion of foster care services in Northern Ireland and address the recommendations of the Independent Review.

A Foster Care Strategic Plan is currently being drafted, which aims to outline how HSC Trusts will recruit and retain foster carers. This will inform the future direction of services, by setting out plans to expand and strengthen both mainstream and specialist foster care provision. It is currently aimed to finalise the plan in mid 2026.

In advance of the plan and to align with it, work is already progressing on increasing the regionalisation of recruitment of foster carers across Northern Ireland and developing more support for foster carers. My Department is nearing completion on a new regional procedure for managing concerns, complaints and allegations made in respect of foster carers in Northern Ireland.

A new scheme – Foster Care Ambassador - has been developed following research of similar models in the UK and is in the early stages of implementation across HSC Trusts. A foster care ambassador is an approved, experienced foster carer, and partnership working between the ambassador and the fostering social worker is considered crucial in supporting potential new foster carers through the assessment and approval process. The aim of the scheme is to provide end to end support to new fostering applicants, from point of enquiry to approval at Foster Panel, and ultimately to help improve the number of initial enquiries which result in approvals of new foster carers.

I am also bringing forward new legislative and regulatory arrangements, to streamline the foster carer assessment process and remove profit from foster care services. I have already approved the making of the new foster regulations, to be brought into operation during 2026/27, which also introduce a requirement for independent fostering agencies to be registered with, and inspected by, RQIA.

Work is also continuing on the development of draft Minimum Standards for Fostering Services in Northern Ireland, to accompany and complement the regulations. Draft standards were subject to consultation in 2025, and my officials are currently analysing the consultation responses, identifying any arising issues submitted in the responses for further consideration by the Department.

Comparable to the approach set out in the Department of Education’s Report ‘Renewing Fostering: homes for 10,000 more children’, it is intended that the various strands of work currently being undertaken by my Department will go some way to expanding fostering services in Northern Ireland.