Family Rights Group | Parents’ Forum

Hello, my child was taken into foster care recently and the social worker took a bunch of items like toys, clothes, jackets from our house without asking us or documenting anything.

Now the child is back home from foster care, but a few items are missing, especially a coat that she loves. We are very unhappy about the process in which the local authority just grabbed things from our property without documenting and then now things are missing. The social worker is basically saying the foster carer "should have returned" everything and there is nothing she can do.

The coat itself was 40 only, but is not sold anymore. I bought the coat and my child loves it very much. What can I do? Can I sue the LA? I am considering a small money claim against the LA.

In principle, a Local Authority can be held responsible for missing belongings, because once items are taken into care, they remain the LA’s responsibility even if a foster carer physically holds them. The problem you’re likely to face with a small claim is proof. A court would ask whether you can show that the coat was actually taken into care in the first place. Without an inventory, receipt, photo, or written acknowledgement, the LA would probably deny liability and the claim may fail, even though the process was clearly poor.

That doesn’t mean you’re stuck, though. The stronger and more realistic route here is a formal complaint, not court.

The key issue is that the social worker removed items without consent or documentation. That is a procedural failure. The LA can’t simply say “the foster carer should have returned it” and walk away, the foster carer was acting on their behalf.

I would suggest:

Making a Stage 1 formal complaint in writing.

State that belongings were removed without consent or an inventory.

Confirm items are now missing, including a coat of emotional importance to your child.

Ask for a written explanation and either replacement or compensation.

Even where proof is limited, LAs often offer a goodwill payment because they know the process was not followed correctly.

You can also submit a Subject Access Request asking for any notes or emails referring to items taken from your home or discussions with the foster carer about belongings. Sometimes things are mentioned even when no formal list exists.

For £40, court is likely to be stressful and disproportionate. A complaint and escalation to a manager is far more likely to get a practical outcome.

Dear Bayescr,

Thank you for your post. I am Suzie, a Family Rights Group online adviser. As you may be aware the advice service has been closed over the festive season but has now re-opened (as at 2nd January 2026).

It is very good to hear that your child has now returned to your care.

You are frustrated that some of your child’s possessions have not been handed back to you and you have not had a satisfactory response from the social worker as yet.

You are particularly annoyed that a coat that your child is fond of has not been given back.

Another forum user has pointed out that it might be practical to raise the matter with the social work team manager. The social worker and the social work team manager could ask the supervising social worker, who works with the foster carer to raise the matter and support the foster carer to get organised and gather the missing items together, ready for return to you. You can read more about the role of the supervising social worker here.

If an informal approach to the social worker and social work team manager does not yield results you can consider making a formal complaint. You can read more about the complaints procedure here.

You're likely to have several matters on your mind following the huge disruption of your child being taken into foster care, and now have much to attend to as your child settles back home. I hope that your concerns are listened to and the issue is resolved.

Best wishes,
Suzie