Allowances For Foster Carers Could Increase In Brighton & Hove

Councillors are being asked to increase allowances for foster carers struggling with rising costs.

If an increase is approved, it is forecast to cost Brighton and Hove City Council an extra £486,000 a year.

The proposed uplift is due to be debated by the council’s Children, Families and Schools Committee at a meeting next Monday (12 June).

A report to the committee said that increasing the allowances would help the council to compete with neighbouring local authorities and independent fostering providers in a “highly competitive” and challenging environment.

The report said:

“Foster carers tell us they cannot afford to continue fostering on the allowances they currently receive.

“The ‘cost of living crisis’ has impacted household finances significantly and carers are increasingly finding themselves out of pocket when caring for our children.

“Our recruitment targets will not be met if we do not increase allowances to carers.”

And if the council misses its recruitment targets, it may end up spending more on carers recruited by independent fostering agencies.

The report to councillors said that one of the challenges was that Brighton and Hove was a small geographical area, with 35 per cent of Brighton and Hove’s foster carers living in West Sussex.

The council’s plans to recruit more of its own foster carers had been affected by a number of factors. These included the high cost of housing, the limited number of spare rooms and the competition from language schools for hosts for foreign students.

The report said:

“Very active competition from local profit-making independent fostering agencies with significant marketing resources at their disposal makes recruitment and retention of foster carers very challenging which is why we are having to improve our fostering allowance offer.”

“Over the last year … the average weekly cost of a residential placement has risen from £4,247.45 to £5,269.32. This puts significant pressure on the service and budget.

“To achieve savings, it is necessary to reduce the number of children needing residential placement.

“When a child in care is placed with a Brighton and Hove City Council foster carer rather than an independent fostering agency carer, there is an annual cost saving of £14,500.

“When placed with a Brighton and Hove City Council foster carer rather than a residential care home provider, the annual cost saving is £246,700.

“For every 16 to 17-year-old placed with a Brighton and Hove City Council foster carer rather than a supported accommodation provider, the annual cost saving is £42,500.”

Last year, one of the council’s most senior officials, Deb Austin, spoke out about the cost of independent agencies when councillors discussed increasing allowances.

At a meeting of the Children, Young People and Skills Committee last September, she said:

“There is an element of profit in that money (paid to agencies). While it does cover all of the costs, the majority of independent fostering agencies make a profit.

“There are very few that are not for profit – and that is a bit of a bone of contention. Some are owned by large hedge funds and are making a significant amount of profit.

“Wherever possible, we want to place our children (directly) with Brighton and Hove carers.”

Recruiting carers for older teenagers is the council’s priority, but there is a “significant” shortage of foster carers available for 16 to 17-year-olds.

The report to the meeting scheduled for next Monday said:

“The increase in fostering allowances is part of the drive to increase the pool of carers available to care for this teenage cohort of children in care.

“We believe that family care is best for our children and young people and very few of our children in care are ready for semi-independent living at 16 and 17.”

The budget for in-house foster placements in 2023-24 – the current financial year – is £9.34 million while the budget for agency placements for the same period is just over £24 million.

Weekly payments for fostering range from £348 a week for babies and toddlers to up to £1,114 a week for young parents with children under two.

The Children, Families and Schools Committee is due to meet at 4pm on Monday 12 June at Hove Town Hall. The meeting is scheduled to be webcast on the council’s website.