54 Response Accepted Self-assessed

Lambeth foster carer vetting review

Recommendation

Lambeth Council should review the application of recruitment and vetting procedures for all current foster carers directly provided by Lambeth Council, to ensure that the procedures have been followed correctly. In addition, Lambeth Council should seek assurances from external agencies and other local authorities, in which children in the care of Lambeth Council have been placed, that recruitment and vetting procedures have been followed correctly for all foster carers and residential children's homes' staff working with children.

Published Evidence Summary
The following publicly available evidence relates to this recommendation:
Lambeth Council stated in December 2021 that its staff working with children, councillors, and foster carers held appropriate and up-to-date Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates. The Council also committed to implementing an online DBS process for enhanced compliance monitoring and ensuring robust safer recruitment practices within its commissioned services and placements (Govt response to IICSA’s Accountability and Reparations Report, 22 May 2023 update).
How was this assessed?
Assessed by gemini-2.5-flash on 24 Mar 2026
Checked data held on this site (government responses, progress updates, independent evidence)
External sources searched: www.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk, hansard.parliament.uk
This recommendation requires implementation across many organisations. The assessment reflects central policy response, not adoption in individual organisations.
Jurisdiction
England
Section Reference
E
Response
Accepted
Accepted UK Government
22 May 2023

On 15 December 2021, Lambeth Council stated that staff working with children, councillors and foster carers had appropriate and up-to-date Disclosure and Barring Service certificates. It also stated that it would implement an online Disclosure and Barring Service process that enables better monitoring of compliance in line with safer recruitment practice. Lambeth Council also stated that it will ensure that its commissioned services and placements have robust safer recruitment practices in place for staff working with children and young people.

Read Full Response
Source
Inquiry IICSA
Report Children in the Care of Lambeth Council Investigation Report 27 Jul 2021
View Source
Responsible Bodies
Lambeth Council Primary
Themes & Tags
Poor recruitment checks Local Authority Foster Care Vetting
Recommendation age 4.7 yrs
Last formal update 1037 days ago