Fostering Panels

These Regulations are made to:

• impose requirements in relation to the establishment and functions of fostering panels on local authority fostering services providers and on regulated fostering services providers, which together are referred to as ‘fostering services providers’

• make provision for the establishment of a central list of individuals who are considered suitable to sit on a fostering panel, from which fostering panel members may be drawn

• set out the functions of fostering panels, in particular, to consider applications for the approval of foster parents, and make recommendations as to whether an individual is suitable to act as a foster parent—fostering panels also make recommendations as to whether an individual remains suitable to act as a foster parent whenever a review is carried out

• prescribe minimum attendance requirements for foster panel meetings, and require each panel to make a written record of its proceedings and the reasons for the recommendations made

• set out the requirements for the assessment of prospective foster parents—the fostering services provider may notify an individual that they are not suitable to become a foster parent. If no such notification is given, the fostering services provider must continue to assess the individual’s suitability to be a foster parent

• provide approval or otherwise of an individual to be a foster parent, and set out the process to be followed where the fostering services provider considers an individual to be unsuitable

• provide that an individual who is informed they are unlikely to be approved has the right to submit representations to the fostering services provider or have their case reviewed by the independent review panel

• list the information which the fostering services provider must send to the independent review panel

• require the fostering services provider to maintain case records in relation to each foster parent

• require the fostering services provider to maintain a list of each foster parent it has approved and not approved

• set out the retention periods for the records which must be kept, and require the records to be stored securely

Read the official version of this legislation.