Allowances campaign
Campaign objective
Allowances for the day-to-day care of fostered children set at a rate no less than the Fostering Network's minimum recommended allowances, to cover the full cost of fostering to foster carers.
What are allowances?
Allowances are payments made by local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales, and by Health and Social Services Trusts in Northern Ireland, for the living costs of fostered children. These are NOT payments to foster carers for the job they do, but payments to cover, for example, food and clothing for each fostered child.
Why we campaign on allowances
- There has been no consistency on allowance payments, with each local authority left to determine rates for itself.
- The Fostering Network publishes recommended minimum allowances calculated to cover the costs of looking after a fostered child, and encourages all fostering services to give these rates to all foster carers. For 2008-09, they start at just £121.68 per week for the youngest children.
- Six out of 10 UK foster carers say the allowances they received did not cover their fostering expenses.
- Inadequate allowances mean foster carers subsidise the state to ensure that fostered children don't lose out.
- It is unfair that the amount of money made available to cover a fostered child's day-to-day living expenses is dictated by the place they come into public care, rather than by their needs.