Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help increase the number of foster care placements in the London Borough of Barnet.

The department is taking action nationally to increase the number of foster care places available.

We are investing over £3 million to deliver an initial fostering recruitment and retention programme in the North East Regional Improvement and Innovation Alliance. This will introduce a regional support hub to support individuals interested in applying to foster, facilitate targeted communications, and improve retention with the evidence-based model Mockingbird. The department will then expand our recruitment and retention programme from 2023 by investing over £24 million, offering more areas of the country the opportunity to implement end-to-end improvements in fostering recruitment and retention.

The department also continues to fund Fosterline and Fosterline Plus, a free-to-access helpline and support service for current and prospective foster carers, to provide high quality, independent information and advice on a range of issues. ​

In recognition of the increasing costs of living, the department is also raising the National Minimum Allowance (NMA). Foster carers will benefit from a 12.43% increase to the NMA. In addition, changes to tax and benefit allowances announced in the 2023 Spring Budget represent an average tax cut of £450 per year for foster carers, as well as simplifying the process for self-assessment returns for most foster carers. This above inflation increase in allowance and changes to tax arrangement will help foster parents cover the increasing costs of caring for a child in their home and support prospective foster carers to feel confident taking a child into their home.​