Over the last six weeks, Home for Good and Safe Families have been conducting an advocacy campaign encouraging people to write to their parliamentary candidates standing for election, urging them to make children in care and families in crisis a priority in their constituencies and in parliament, as well as committing to a meeting with our advocacy team. Inspired by the words of Proverbs 31:8 to "speak out on behalf of the voiceless, and for the rights of all who are vulnerable," the campaign highlighted the shocking truth that there has been a 30% increase in the number of children in care across the UK since 2010.

We are incredibly grateful to the 446 people who took action by writing to their candidates. So far, 67 candidates committed themselves to making children in care and families in crisis a priority, and to meeting with our team. Among these, 18 Labour, 6 Lib Dem, 2 Conservative, and 1 Green candidate have been elected as Members of Parliament (MPs).

At Home for Good and Safe Families we are now taking steps to arrange meetings with these newly elected MPs, with the aim of meeting them between September and December 2024 to allow them time to settle into their new roles. These meetings will be crucial opportunities for informing and upskilling newly elected MPs on the urgent issues facing children in care and families in crisis, laying a foundation for our advocacy team to build upon over the coming years. Please pray for us as we follow up with these MPs; that they would take the commitment made in our campaign seriously, and that we'd have wisdom to know how to empower and equip them to pursue change in Parliament for children and families.

Unless you haven’t been watching the News this week, you will know that the election has resulted in a Labour Government for the first time since 2010. We are waiting for confirmation on who will assume the role of Government Minister for Children & Early Years. From day one in office, the Minister for Children will inherit a weighty brief which spans across children’s social care and includes taking on the role of being the ultimate corporate parent to thousands of children across England.* Although the financial landscape remains tight, the need for early support for families struggling to cope, as well as stable, loving homes for children in care is greater than ever before with record numbers of children entering care for the first time.

In a recent interview, Keir Starmer stated ‘there will be no decade of national renewal without active participation of the church’. A sentiment which we wholeheartedly agree with. We are hopeful for the years to come that the church will continue to rise-up and make a positive difference across our nation, particularly by caring for children and families through radical acts of love and hospitality. We remain committed to working with churches across the country and both national and local Government to ensure every child has a home and families are supported.

*Children’s Social Care is a devolved issue and as such, Ministers across the legislative assemblies of Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland are responsible for their nation’s children’s social care system.