Topical Questions

Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Work and Pensions – in the House of Commons at 2:30 pm on 28 January 2013.

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Photo of Iain Duncan Smith Iain Duncan Smith The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 2:30, 28 January 2013

We are of course working closely with the Minister responsible at the Department for Education—the Under-Secretary of State, Mr Timpson—whose record on this is unimpeachable, as my right hon. Friend knows. He also should recognise that we have laid aside £5 million specifically to help with foster carers in the situation he described. However, we are in discussions with local authorities, county councils and the Department for Education about how best the money can be used to ensure that it specifically helps foster carers in this area, so that they suffer no hardship whatever, but can continue, and we can encourage more people to become foster carers.