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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.
Significant burnout and poor wellbeing among foster carers are leading to more instability for children and young people in the care system, according to new figures from the UK’s leading fostering charity.
As the number of young people in care across the UK exceeds 100,000, and foster carer numbers continue to drop, The Fostering Network’s State of the Nations’ Foster Care 2024 report lays bare the immense challenges facing foster carers, and the serious impact this is having on children and young people.
The Fostering Network, the UK’s leading fostering charity, is delighted to announce the launch of a brand-new membership category: Associate Membership. This initiative is open to individuals and organisations with a shared passion for fostering, enabling them to support and champion foster carers, fostering services, and children in care across the UK.
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.
We welcome the government’s policy statement ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’ and its mission to give every child the best chance in life. There has been under-investment and lack of priority given to children’s social care for far too long, so we are pleased to see this much needed reset.
New figures show the number of people choosing to foster in England is declining for the third year running, with six per cent fewer fostering households compared to 2021.
On behalf of our members, The Fostering Network is extremely disappointed that foster carer allowances in Northern Ireland have only been increased by three per cent for 2024/25. This equates to an increase of less than five pounds per week, per child and represents another blow for foster carers after it was announced last week that Scottish Government would not increase allowances for foster carers in Scotland during 2024/25.
I am writing to you today, conscious of the impact that the recent and ongoing civil unrest and racist violence occurring across the UK will be having on fostering families and fostering services.
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.
Today our CEO Sarah Thomas gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Committee in the Senedd on Health and Social Care (Wales) Bill which seeks to eliminate profit from children’s social care.
