Foster Care Fortnight 2026

That this House recognises Foster Care Fortnight from May 11 to May 25; acknowledges the extraordinary contribution foster carers make and the work they do to ensure children can grow up in safe, loving and caring homes; observes that foster carers improve outcomes for children and that increased stability helps children build healthy relationships and make better progress in school; notes that there are more than 60,000 children in foster care in the UK but that over 20% of foster children are placed more than 20 miles from home due to a lack of suitable local foster families; further notes that the number of foster carers has fallen sharply since the Covid-19 pandemic; welcomes the Government’s commitment to create an additional 10,000 fostering places this Parliament and invest an additional £88 million in the fostering system; supports the call made by the Fostering Network for the Government to place equal focus on retention as recruitment; and urges all hon. Members to promote Foster Care Fortnight and to raise awareness of the vital work foster carers do to improve lives, support children and to ensure that every child has the chance to succeed.