Scottish Government’s decision not to increase allowances huge blow for foster and kinship families

News

Tue, 30/07/2024

On behalf of our members, The Fostering Network is extremely disappointed to learn that the Scottish Government will not be increasing the Scottish Recommended Allowance (SRA) for foster carers and kinship carers this financial year, 2024-2025.

Scotland was the last nation in the UK to introduce a national allowance for foster carers in August 2023 after many years of campaigning from The Fostering Network. While the national minimum allowance in England has increased by 6.88 per cent this year, the lack of increase to the equivalent allowance north of the border shows that Scotland is again falling behind.

The Promise in 2020 stated that “To provide the care that children require, foster carers must be sufficiently financially maintained.” Yet the SRA is significantly below the true costs of looking after a child in foster care, as calculated by research we undertook with Pro Bono Economics and Loughborough University. Our 2021 State of the Nations’ Foster Care survey found that less than half (47%) of foster carers surveyed in Scotland felt that their allowances and any expenses meet the full costs of looking after the child or children they foster.

The number of fostering households in Scotland is continuing to fall, leaving a shortage of around 400 households this year alone. We know from research that financial support is a critical part of both retaining and recruiting foster carers. The Scottish Government must therefore prioritise the SRA and commit to increasing it in line with inflation on an annual basis to ensure that foster carers can continue to look after Scotland’s children.

We appreciate the Scottish Government’s commitment to reviewing the SRA later this year and we will work hard to inform this review and ensure foster carers’ voices are heard. However, the need for change is already clear. Every foster carer who resigns and every prospective foster carer who does not come forward because they cannot afford to foster means another child or children without the loving home they need.

Anne Currie, assistant director for The Fostering Network in Scotland, said: "Scotland’s foster and kinship carers have waited far too long for the financial support they’re entitled to, and this announcement will come as a blow to many who are struggling to make ends meet after a very difficult few years.

“We know that the SRA isn’t enough; the true costs of looking after a child in foster care are well evidenced. The lack of an inflationary uplift to the SRA this year means a real-terms cut to its value, removing vital support from foster and kinship families. The Fostering Network is committed to working with the Scottish Government to change this situation so that fostering and kinship families get the financial support they deserve.”

Keeping The Promise requires the will to make courageous decisions despite a difficult fiscal environment. We will continue to lobby the Scottish Government to provide the support needed and work with them by sharing the results of our State of the Nations survey and informing the review of the SRA as well as forthcoming consultations on foster care this year. We will monitor the impact of the SRA decision on our members through our outreach work and Fosterline, and share this with the Scottish Government to ensure that they are considering the national impact of the decision.

The Fostering Network’s 2024/25 recommended allowance rates are: