Opposition councillors have criticised Lambeth Council for encouraging families in the borough to foster children from Southwark.

The council's Lambeth Life newspaper, delivered to 136,000 homes in the borough, carried an advert from Southwark Council trying to get Lambeth residents to become foster carers for Southwark's looked-after children.

But Liberal Democrat councillors think this sends out the wrong message about Lambeth's own children in need of foster care.

"Lambeth Council is spending council taxpayers' money to publish adverts that will make it more difficult to find local carers for our own children," said Councillor Roger Giess, Lib Dem spokesman for children's services.

"The council's publicity department is betraying the hard work of its own children's department. I am demanding they cancel any more adverts like this from other councils."

A Lambeth Council spokesman said the council is committed to increasing fostering and adoption levels. "We run our own programmes to recruit foster carers in Lambeth, and at the same time we work with other south London councils to help all young people who are in need of support," he said.

"It's common practice for councils to advertise in other boroughs for foster carers and by accepting external advertising we help keep costs down for the taxpayer."