Scottish Government announces updated payment for foster and kinship carers
The Scottish Government has announced today that foster and kinship carers across Scotland will receive an updated allowance to help them care for the children and young people they look after.
The Fostering Network has campaigned with our foster carer members for this change for many years, so we welcome this long overdue announcement today.
Children and young people in Scotland will be better supported as a result of this investment, as the new Scottish Recommended Allowance is intended to benefit more than 9,000 children in foster or kinship care across Scotland. This marks the first time a set rate, which all local authorities must pay, has been introduced across Scotland.
The new weekly allowances, which will be backdated to 1 April 2023, are:
- 0- to-4-year-olds: £168.31
- 5-to-10-year-olds £195.81
- 11-to-15-year-olds: £195.81
- 16-years-old and over: £268.41.
However, the recommended allowance levels set out are still below what The Fostering Network has previously recommended in our Cost of Fostering campaign, which found that it costs £215 per week to raise a child in foster care aged 0-4 years, £258 per week to raise a child in foster care aged 5-10 years and £324 per week to raise a child in foster care aged over 11 years.
Jacqueline Cassidy, director for Scotland at The Fostering Network, said:
‘We are really pleased to finally see action taken today to fulfil the commitment made in The Promise to introduce these recommended allowances in Scotland, most of which will result in an uplift in foster carers’ incomes to help them cover the costs of caring for children.
‘Foster carers play a vital role in supporting children and young people who have experienced significant trauma and provide them with a stable and loving home. It is only right that the Government ensures they are receiving allowances which cover the full cost of providing this care.
‘We will continue to work with the Scottish Government and our members to ensure that the right support is in place for foster carers in Scotland, of which this is a significant step in the right direction.’
ENDS
