Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of the level of national minimum allowances for foster carers; and what plans he has to set minimum allowances for those providing staying-put arrangements.

The national minimum standards for fostering services are clear that every foster parent with a child in placement should receive an allowance that covers the full cost of caring for a child. The government recommends a minimum allowance that fostering service providers should pay to their foster parents each week and uplifts it annually in line with the gross domestic product deflators.

The government does not believe that introducing a national minimum allowance for Staying Put carers is the right way forward. Unlike children in foster care, young people in Staying Put arrangements are adults, and may be in work, or claiming benefits. These financial sources can be used to contribute to the cost of providing the Staying Put arrangement, in a similar way that young people who are still living at home with their parents may contribute to the costs of running the household.