Member

Critically, as the noble Baroness talked about, recent evidence of the success of this approach appeared in the ground-breaking 2023 evaluation by Foundations. The key findings were that children were less likely to go into care and spent less time in care and that families were less likely to go to court for care proceedings. While I entirely understand that the Minister might be reluctant to be overly prescriptive in the Bill about one specific model being followed, I hope she might look favourably on this amendment. She talked about statutory guidance, but this amendment would put in the Bill that local authorities must use evidence-based approaches, rather than just having principles in guidance. That would give us all the confidence that approaches taken at a local level are based on clear evidence and best practice, to ensure that all the families we have been talking about this evening, requiring family group decision-making, are properly supported and have the best chance for a good outcome for the situation they are in.