While the Westminster set enjoy salmon blinis, caviar and £100 bottles of Pol Roger, the people holding children’s social care together are exhausted, undervalued and walking away.

This week on Foster Care Uncovered, Sarah and Louise look at the politics behind children’s social care reform, the arrival of new leadership, and whether the promise of listening to people beyond Westminster will finally reach the frontline.

We ask whether glossy announcements, photo opportunities and symbolic reforms are replacing the difficult work of actually fixing a system in crisis.

Then we tackle the uncomfortable conversation nobody likes to have: are foster carers being exploited by the very system that depends on them?

From hidden costs and emotional labour, to fear, power imbalance and feeling disposable when things go wrong, we expl ...