Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department has made additional funds available to foster carers affected by the rising cost of living.

The Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards, issued by my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, under the Care Standards Act 2000, sets out the expectations that are placed on foster carers and their agencies. The standards can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/192705/NMS_Fostering_Services.pdf.

The department is clear that carers should not be out of pocket because of their fostering role, and we expect all foster carers to receive 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 NMA was developed by calculating the cost of caring for a birth child and accounting for the additional cost of caring for a foster child. The rate is reviewed annually to bring it in line with inflation.

Foster carers also receive qualifying care relief which is made up of two parts: 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.