Dear Braintree District Council,

1. How many children do you have in care in your Local Authority?
2. How many foster carers do you currently have approved in-house?
3. In the financial year of March 31st 2023-1st April 2024 how many foster carers did you approve and how many resigned in that period?
4. What are your top three sufficiency needs in terms of placement availability for children and young people?
5. What are the fostering allowances in your service for mainstream foster carers?
6. What is the % split between children placed in house and children placed in IFA?
7. How many children do you have in residential care?
8. Do you have any specialist foster carer projects such as step across from residential care? Yes or No
9. If you do have a project of this kind, please answer the following:
a) Is this an in-house project or outsourced to an IFA?
b) How many children within this project had a plan of foster care but ended up in residential care due to lack of foster carer availability?
c) How many of the children in this project had a care plan of residential but are now ready to move into foster care?
d) When did this project start and what is the duration of the project?
e) How many children in total within this project are you aiming to move back into foster care?
f) Thus far, how many children have you successfully placed into foster care via this project?
g) Of these children moved, have the children moved in the agreed timeframe? and if not what have been the barriers?
h) Are the children placed solo or alongside other children in care?
i) What are the carers paid inhouse or IFA paid per placement per child stepping from residential into foster care?
j) Is there an aftercare package attached to this project and if so, what does this consist of in terms of support?

Yours faithfully,

James