What guidance it provides to local authorities about the system of application for becoming a foster carer.

Local authorities are responsible for having foster carer procedures in place which will be inspected against National Care Standards by the Care Inspectorate. The Care Inspectorate is responsible for the registration and inspection of foster care services.
Standard 5 states that “you know you will be fully assessed by the agency before being accepted as a foster carer” and Standard 6 states that “you can be confident that the agency treats applications to become a foster carer fairly and without unnecessary delay.”