National Minimum Allowance increase for foster carers in England doesn't go far enough

This week the government announced a 3.55 per cent increase to the national minimum allowance (NMA) for foster carers in England. While we welcome the increased financial support for fostering families, it doesn’t go far enough to cover the full costs of caring for a child in foster care. 

Each year the government increases the NMA in line with inflation and what is affordable for local government. While inflation was lower this year, and the 3.55 per cent uplift exceeds inflation, the rates are still too low after decades of underfunding and the increasing cost of living. 

As part of our #CostofFostering campaign we are calling for a fairer funding framework for fees and allowances and urging fostering services to use our recommended allowance rates to ensure every foster carers can cover the full costs of caring for a child.

Every year, we calculate our recommended allowance rates. Our calculations supported by Pro Bono Economics, are based on the Minimum Income Standard for the United Kingdom and Nina Oldfield's ‘The Adequacy of Foster Care Allowances’ which considers the additional costs of caring for a child in foster care.  Even with the 3.55 per cent uplift, the NMA for 2025/6 still falls far below our recommended rates.

The Fostering Network’s new 2025/6 recommended rates are:   

• £250 per week to raise a child in foster care aged 0-4 years  
• £332 per week to raise a child in foster care aged 5-10 years   
• £428 per week to raise a child in foster care aged over 11 years.   

We are calling on the government to increase the NMA to our recommended rates to ensure they cover the full costs of caring for a child in foster care so they can thrive. 

Sarah Thomas, Chief Executive of The Fostering Network, said: “While this increase offers some relief for foster carers, it falls short of covering the full costs of caring for a child. We know that every year more and more foster carers are choosing to stop fostering. We must do everything we can to make sure they are sufficiently remunerated so they can continue to support children and young people to thrive. 

“We need urgent action from the government now. A fairer funding framework for both fees and allowances is desperately needed so we can retain existing foster carers and encourage more people to think about fostering. If we don’t act, we will lose more foster carers, putting the wellbeing of vulnerable children and young people at risk.”