“Ownership structures in children’s social care can be highly complex.” In effect, a euphemism for owners, often offshore, who extract hundreds of millions of pounds from social care.

Millions of pounds in profits are being extracted from supported accommodation for children supposedly in care

Thousands of fostering places are controlled by voracious private equity firms

Exploitative private owners open homes where they can maximise profits, not where it is best for children

The two largest owners of children’s homes

All but one of the 12 biggest providers of children’s homes are owned by financial investors.

Children’s homes and foster care are big business.

There are still many families who see fostering as a way of life, rather than their livelihoods. We should celebrate this.

Despite this, I’m broadly optimistic about the future of foster care. The fact that more than 8,000 families came forward to foster last year is a wonder, given the commitment it represents.

Look at the vast number of unfulfilled vacancies and retention rates across other sectors, particularly those related to care or children. You get the picture.

Making foster care a full-time, paid occupation is unlikely to shift the dial. I don’t see how local councils can make a compelling offer without getting into a deeper financial morass to persuade people to step away from other full-time jobs to raise other people’s children.

There will be frustration that £36 million has been invested in recruitment and retention with a modest return, at best. But who’s to say where we would be without this investment? The reality is that there isn’t an untapped well of potential foster families out there.

At any one time around 26,000 fostering places are vacant or not available, which represents almost 40% of approved places. The reasons for this are complex but it is something that is generally overlooked amid the number crunching.

Fostering itself has changed, with more children in kinship care and young people staying with their foster families into early adulthood (but technically no longer in foster care). Today’s numbers should be considered with this in mind.

Overall, fostering numbers have held up well over the past 10 years of profound societal and demographic changes. The number of fostering households is broadly unchanged, which is remarkable when measured against what is happening, particularly across health and social care.