Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether her Department is providing additional financial support to local authorities in England to support foster children and parents with the cost of living.

The Fostering Services National Minimum Standards, issued by the Secretary of State under the Care Standards Act 2000, set out the expectation that fostering service providers cover the full cost of caring for each child placed with a foster carer. This should include paying at least the national minimum allowance (NMA), plus any agreed expenses to cover the full cost of caring for each child placed with them (Standard 28). The department expects fostering service providers to review their rates each year and to set out a clear policy on what their foster carers can expect. The Fostering Services National Minimum Standards can be accessed at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/192705/NMS_Fostering_Services.pdf.

This year the department has raised the NMA for foster carers by an above inflation increase of 12.43%, to reflect the increasing costs of caring for a child.

Foster carers also receive Qualifying Care Relief that is made up of tax exemption on the first £10,000 shared equally among any foster carers in the same household and tax relief for every week a child is in their care. This year, the department has increased the amount of income tax relief available to foster carers up to £18,140, from £10,000.