AQW 8129/16-21

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 29/11/2016
Answered On Date: 07/12/2016
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health which aspects of the updated fostering regulations will contain provisions to ensure children admitted to care receive a holistic assessment of physical and mental health needs.

Answer:

Several current sets of Regulations contain provisions to ensure that children and young people admitted to care receive health assessments and that those assessments are then reviewed regularly: paragraph 1(c) of Schedule 3 to The Foster Placement (Children) Regulations (NI 1996; Regulations 7(1)(a) and 7(1)(c) of The Arrangements for Placement of Children (General) Regulations (NI) 1996; and Regulation 6 of, and Schedule 3 to, the Review of Children’s Cases Regulations (NI) 1996.

The draft Foster Placement and Fostering Agencies Regulations which were issued for consultation place a particular duty on the responsible authority (the Health and Social Care Trust) to promote the health and development of children placed with a foster parent. These draft Regulations explicitly refer to medical, dental, nursing, psychological and psychiatric advice, treatment and other services. They also require the Trust to ensure that, in relation to any child placed or to be placed with a foster parent, the foster parent is given such information, which is kept up to date, as to enable the foster parent to provide appropriate care for the child. In particular, each foster parent is to be provided with the appropriate information regarding the state of health and health needs of any child placed or to be placed with the foster parent. I am currently considering the draft Regulations and intend to seek Health Committee scrutiny of them thereafter.