TACT CEO, Andy Elvin, was invited to attend 10 Downing Street for the launch of a national fostering recruitment campaign.

On Tuesday 13th October 2026, I was privileged to be invited to 10 Downing Street for the launch of the Department for Education (DfE) fostering recruitment campaign in England. It was a great event with some fantastic and inspirational speakers. The event was opened and hosted by Marie France Van Heel , the Prime Minister’s wife. It was her first time hosting an event since moving into Downing Street and she spoke excellently and passionately about the importance of foster care. She shared that she had thought of fostering, but her husband’s job made that challenging. It was pointed out to her that her new home had plenty of spare rooms!

The main speaker was Amy Burns, host of ‘Messy Fostering’; she spoke movingly and frankly about her experience of fostering and left the room in no doubt about the importance of fostering and the urgent need to ensure that all children who need fostering can be provided with safe, stable & loving foster homes.

This is only the second dedicated fostering event at 10 Downing Street and it was great to see that fostering is now front and centre of the government’s plans for the care system.

It was brilliant to see so many people who were determined to increase the availability of foster care and transform outcomes for our children and young people. I caught up with Brad Keller and took his photo for him outside number 10. Brad is keen to do all he can to support fostering as he credits his foster family for inspiring him and encouraging him to follow his passion for music.

Huge credit goes to Children’s Minister Josh MacAlister for organising the event and putting fostering at the centre of things so early in Andy Burnham’s premiership.

I also met a couple of the Traitors cast, Judy and Roxy, who were keen to promote fostering and were both hilarious and excellent company.

It was also good to see so many partners and friends of ours including Niketa Sanderson-Gillard, who has drafted the new National Minimum Standards, Allan Madeley from Home fostering, Sarah Thomas – CEO of The Fostering Network, Katie and Sara from Now Foster, and Ashley John Baptiste.

With the rise of Regional Care Co-Ops, the national foster carer recruitment campaign, the new National Minimum Standards and the various innovation projects that we are involved with, this is a good time for fostering. It is vital that we take full advantage of this so we can improve outcomes for our children,  young people & care-experienced community – and support our foster families in doing this. With the new legislation in Scotland meaning all Independent Fostering Agencies must be charities and the ‘eliminate profit’ agenda in Wales, there are positive signs for fostering across the UK.

TACT are central to all of these developments and initiatives and we will continue to advocate for fostering and all of the children, young people and care-experienced adults who it is our privilege to care for.