Welsh NMA uplift falls short of what foster carers need

The national minimum allowance (NMA) in Wales will be increased by just 2.6 per cent, the Welsh Government has announced, meaning the allowances will still full short of the amount needed to cover the full cost of caring for a child in care. 

The uplift for 2025/26 is much lower than England, where the rates have been increased by 3.55 per cent.  

We welcome the review of allowances and fees by Foster Wales and Welsh Government to bring about a revised structure and payment levels for all local authorities in Wales. However, for foster carers and the children they care for in Wales, another year has passed with this review not completed.  

We are calling on the government to urgently consider and implement the findings so the new rates can be rolled out to foster carers by the next financial year.  This will bring about much needed equality and consistency of both fees and allowances to foster carers in all local authorities. 

Our recent research on both fees and allowances as part of our #CostOfFostering campaign shows there is a huge postcode lottery of both allowances and fees for foster carers across local authorities in Wales. 

We have been calling on the Welsh Government to increase the NMA to our recommended rates, to ensure they cover the full costs of caring for a child in care and we urge them to implement these in their consideration of Foster Wales review.  

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 2.6 per cent uplift, the NMA for 2025/6 still falls far below our recommended rates. 

The Fostering Network’s new 2025/6 recommended rates and we urge all local authorities to pay these:    

• £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.    

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 Welsh Government now to act on and implement the review on both fees and allowances so that foster carers do not face huge disparities depending where they live and are not left out of pocket.”