I am writing to request recorded information regarding your local authority’s exploration and use of family and connected persons placements, including placements outside England and outside the UK, for children who are or have been looked after.
This request relates to information held by your authority in accordance with duties under the Children Act 1989 and the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010. Local authorities are required to safeguard and promote the welfare of looked after children and to prioritise placement with relatives or connected persons where consistent with the child’s welfare.
There is a clear public interest in disclosure. Although certain information is not reported in national returns such as SSDA903, local authorities are required to record details of family members explored as potential carers, including where they reside and the outcomes of assessments. This request seeks aggregated, non-identifiable data derived from those existing records. Disclosure will support transparency, accountability, and informed discussion of cross-border and international family placements.

Please provide recorded local authority data for the period 2023–2025 where available.
Enter “0” where the answer is nil.

English Local Authorities
1. Looked After Children with Immigration Status
In the period 2023 – 2025 inclusive, for each calendar year, please share the number of Looked After Children who had immigration status recorded as an issue of concern, including (but not limited to): no current immigration status, unresolved or insecure immigration status, or ongoing immigration or nationality applications. If it would threaten the privacy of any individual to report numbers year on year, please report for the full three-year basis (2023 – 2025 inclusive).

2. Number of Looked After children with immigration status: 2023, 2024, 2025

3. Number of Looked After children with NO immigration status: 2023, 2024, 2025

4. Number of Looked After Children with Family and/or Connected Persons abroad

5. In the period 2023 – 2025, did you explore family and/or connected persons overseas as potential carers for a child in your care? Yes/No

6. Number of children placed with Family and/or Connected Persons abroad

7. In the period 2023 – 2025, for each calendar year, how many children were actually with Family and/or Connected Persons outside England or outside the UK? Please report for the full three-year basis (2023 – 2025 inclusive). If your response is ‘nil’, please use ‘0’.
a) Placed outside of England but within UK: 2023, 2024, 2025
b) Placed outside of the UK: 2023, 2024, 2025

Court orders used for placement overseas
8. For each calendar year, between 2023 – 2025, what number and types of court orders were used to place children with Family and/or Connected Persons outside of the UK? Please report for the full three-year basis (2023 – 2025 inclusive).
No order but child placed outside UK: 2023, 2024, 2025
ICO: 2023, 2024, 2025
CAO: 2023, 2024, 2025
Special Guardianship Order: 2023, 2024, 2025
Adoption Order: 2023, 2024, 2025
Other Order: 2023, 2024, 2025

Post-placement support for overseas placements
9. Has your local authority made any financial support payments to kinship carers living overseas in the past three calendar years (2023, 2024, 2025)? This is regardless of order type and could include: section 17 payments, kinship allowance, SG support, discretionary welfare payments etc. Please list countries of residence of the formerly LAC.