The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Local authorities (LAs) have statutory duties for care planning and providing appropriate placements for looked after children. The Department for Education recognises that there are several challenges in the children's social care placements market, including differing sufficiency challenges across England. The department is rolling out Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) which will harness the collective buying power of individual LAs and allow them to gain economies of scale. RCCs will be responsible for analysing future accommodation needs for looked after children across the region, publishing sufficiency strategies, recruiting and supporting foster parents, and commissioning care places. The department is taking steps to remove the barriers that make it harder for providers, including LAs, to establish provision where it is needed. In September 2025 the department supported Ofsted to update their registration prioritisation criteria, enabling Ofsted to prioritise applications for homes needed to meet identified sufficiency gaps and those providing specialist care. The department’s vision is for every LA to be part of an RCC, accelerating their rollout and providing over £10 million of funding to support the setup of up to six new RCCs in 2026.