Havering has seen a significant increase in the number of children in care, with figures rising by 19% in a single year. The increase was highlighted in the Corporate Parenting dataset 2024/25, presented at the Havering Council meeting on Wednesday 23 July 2025. The report states that decisions about a child entering care are scrutinised for proportionality, whilst family support networks are also leveraged in response to the child's needs, where safe to do so.
The number of children in care increased from 235 on 30 April 2023 to 280 on 31 March 2024, before stabilising between April and August 2024. The Corporate Parenting Panel received the report, which benchmarked the key performance indicators against London and statistical neighbours.
Councillor Jason Frost chairs the Corporate Parenting Panel, which met four times between August 2024 and May 2025. Councillors Oscar Ford, Mandy Anderson, Stephanie Nunn, and Frankie Walker are also members of the panel. The Supplementary Agenda included the Corporate Parenting Panel's annual report.
The panel scrutinises the performance and quality of services to children in care and care experienced young people, monitoring adherence to the legislation that governs the work of those services. The aim of the Corporate Parenting Panel is to act as responsible parents to all children in care and care leavers, ensuring that the Council's pledge to children in care and the local offer to care leavers is fulfilled. The Panel will raise awareness of the needs of children in care and care leavers throughout the Council and its partners.
According to the report, 50% of placements were in-house, up from 49% in 2023/24. Following changes to legislation regarding Semi-Independent (supported) accommodation, with Ofsted now regulating these services, 8% of the cohort are in such placements.
There has been a small increase in children placed more than 20 miles outside their home area, now at 17.9%.
Challenges remain in emergency placements and finding placements for older children in care. The sufficiency of suitable placements and the fostering strategy work is a priority for the service. To improve this, the service has continued to make improvements to the assessment process by starting DBS checks and medicals as soon as suitability is determined, with the target to approve at least 12 households (possibly 14) by March next year. The service is also holding daily meetings with the placements team at 10:00 AM to improve sufficiency and ensure effective matching, encouraging verbal communication over excessive emails to resolve issues faster, and holding weekly meetings every Monday to review carers on hold, ensuring regular updates and follow-ups.