Together We Are Stronger
2016. 2018. 2022. Three formal attempts to scrap the Independent Reviewing Officer role in six years.
First, the Children and Social Work Bill included an exemption clause letting councils opt out of IRO duties. Parliament rejected it.
Then the Narey/Owers Fostering Stocktake found little to recommend the IRO role and said councils should be free to dispense with it. The government said no.
Most recently, the MacAlister Review (2022) recommended scrapping IROs entirely, replacing independent scrutiny of care plans with an opt-out advocacy service. NAIRO, alongside NAGALRO and NIROMP, pushed back. The recommendation was not implemented.
Each time, the IRO community fought — and each time, the role survived.
But the pattern is clear: the role of independent oversight is never secure. The next review is already being drafted somewhere. When it lands, we need to be impossible to ignore.
Every child in care needs someone independent to ensure their plans reflect their needs. That someone is an IRO. And every IRO needs a collective voice behind them.
Join NAIRO. The more of us, the stronger we are.
