We do not collect data on the number of local authorities which have a policy of considering friends and family as a first option. However, it is already a principal of the Children Act 1989 that local authorities should support the upbringing of children by their families wherever possible, if it is in the child's best interests. The Children and Young Persons Act 2008 strengthened this requirement. Volume 1 of the revised Children Act 1989 statutory guidance requires local authorities to demonstrate that they have considered family members and friends as potential carers at each stage of the decision making process.