AQW 15625/17-22

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 02/03/2021
Answered On Date: 09/03/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail the number of households in each constituency that provide foster care, for each of the last five years.

Answer:

Information on foster care households is not routinely recorded at the geographical level requested.

However, foster care households, broken down by Health and Social Care Trusts, for each of the last five years, are set out in Table 1.

Table 1: Number of registered foster care household at 31 March by Health and Social Care Trust

HSC Trust	31 March 2016	31 March 2017	31 March 2018	31 March 2019	31 March 2020
Belfast	374	403	449	482	472
Northern	539	483	444	467	465
South Eastern	301	302	311	388	383
Southern	349	380	417	438	420
Western	387	431	468	517	479
Northern Ireland	1,950	1,999	2,089	2,292	2,219

Source: Delegated Statutory Functions Return.

Note: Figures include kinship foster carers, non-kinship foster carers and professional foster carers. Figures exclude independent foster care providers, providers of specialist placements and kinship foster care households who are in the process of being assessed as kinship carers.