Following consultation, we welcome the extension of the NCF to include long stay secure
hospitals and secure units. However, the omission of foster care from the eligibility to
participate in the forum remains a cause for concern. The evidence highlights that many
adults may have experienced abuse and poor standards of care in foster care.2 In the
Swedish Inquiry into abuse in care, the majority of those who gave testimony had been
abused in foster care.3 While we acknowledge that the National Confidential Forum is not
only concerned with historic abuse, this evidence suggests that it is important that the
National Confidential Forum should be open to adults who spent time in foster care as
children.