Munira Wilson

It is a familiar story, and I completely agree with my hon. Friend. I am getting an indication from the Chair that I am already overrunning, so I will try to cut my last points short. The Minister is aware that I have long campaigned on kinship care. The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill takes welcome steps forward, but there is much further to go. As he knows, putting a child with a family member in the short term is not just better for their long-term outcomes; it would save local authorities around 50% of the cost of putting them in care, even if they gave kinship carers allowances on a par with foster carers. That has to be an urgent cost-saving intervention. The Minister must also restore the adoption and special guardianship support fund grants, as we heard so clearly from my hon. Friend the Member for West Dorset (Edward Morello), who talked about the long-term impact. I will conclude by quoting the Minister’s own words at him. In his review, he stated: “How we care for our children is nothing short of a reflection of our values as a country.” We have heard today that we are falling short on that. We stand ready to work across parties to ensure that his vision becomes reality.