Government response to the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care – initial thoughts from The Fostering Network

The initial response from the sector has been that a £200 million investment falls far short of the £2 billion Josh MacAlister called for and that regional pathfinders (to test reforms in a particular area before rolling them out more widely across the country) do not go far enough.  These criticisms are valid, but as our analysis below shows, there are some changes which will make an immediate difference to the lives of children and young people in foster care. 

Government response to Care Review recommendations relevant to fostering 

You told us you foster because you want to make a difference to the lives of children in care. We thought that was a good starting point to examine the recommendations against. We asked in our care review survey whether you thought the fostering recommendations in the report were likely to improve outcomes for children. Here’s what you said: 

We shared your views with the Government and here is how they responded in yesterday’s report: 

Delegated authority by default: Over 80 per cent of foster carers who responded to our survey believed this is likely to have a positive impact on children’s outcomes. We called on the Government to accept this recommendation in full. They have done so and stated that they will amend guidance to reflect this.

Staying Put: Over three quarters of foster carers who filled in our survey thought that Staying Put as a legal entitlement and extended to age 23 would improve outcomes for children. The Government have partially agreed this; they will change the law to extend it to age 23 but only for those who wish to use that option. We will continue to reflect your view that financial support must also be reformed, as many simply can’t afford to offer Staying Put at present.  

Mockingbird (retention): Over half of foster carers felt that developing a model of foster care support based on the principles of Mockingbird would improve outcomes for children. Those who were in Mockingbird constellations emphasised the positive impact it has on stability for children and retention and recruitment of foster carers. We called on the Government to make Mockingbird available in all local authority areas. The Government have announced that they will further embed Mockingbird across the country; first they will test it out alongside a range of other fostering measures in the North East and then will use this learning over the next two years to further roll out Mockingbird.

Recruitment: Around half of our survey respondents agreed that recruiting 9,000 new foster carers over the next three years was a good idea. Almost all respondents made the point that retention is equally, if not more, important than recruitment. The Government accepted this recommendation immediately back in May last year. Since then, we have been working hard to make the case for retention. The Government has accepted this case and has announced £27 million for recruitment and retention activity over the next two years.

Family group decision making and independent advocacy: Over half of the foster carers who responded to our survey thought the proposals around family group decision making would make a positive difference to children. This would involve local authorities identifying important adults (e.g., family, friends, teachers) that are already known to a child and may be willing to foster. There were some reservations whether teachers would have the capacity to fulfil this role.  The Government have announced plans to test how to implement family group decision-making and Family Network Support Packages. As part of this, all local authorities will offer family group decision-making as standard practice and this will be used at the early stages of working with a family. 

The recommendation to replace Independent Reviewing Officers (IROs) and Section 44 Visitor roles with a new ‘opt-out’ advocacy service had the most mixed response, often depending on the experience foster carers and children had with individuals in those roles. The Government have announced that they will introduce a new advocacy service, but this will not replace IRO or section 44 Visitor roles. As part of the wider review of the standards of care, they will review and strengthen how these roles operate. 

Government response to 'The Cost of Fostering' campaign 

One of your key messages to us, both via our State of the Nation’s Foster Care survey and in response to the care review, was that a key area missing from the review was a focus on financial support for foster carers. A third of foster carers stated that the allowance was not enough to cover the costs of looking after a child in foster care and this was in summer 2021, before the cost of living crisis hit. 

We launched our 'The Cost of Fostering' campaign in November 2022, by which point we were extremely concerned that foster carers may be leaving in their droves if they were simply unable to afford to continue.  

We called on the Government to conduct a full review of allowances and to raise the national minimum allowance (NMA) to reflect the full costs of looking after a child in foster care. The Government announced a historic 12.43 per cent increase in the national minimum allowance.  

Thank you to all of you who supported this campaign. We are delighted that the Government listened and recognised the very real dilemma that many of you were facing over whether you could continue to foster as costs were rising. 

Next steps 

We agree with our colleagues in the sector that much more work and investment are needed to tackle the very real issues the children’s social care sector is facing. It is right that foster carers, described by Josh MacAlister as the ‘bedrock of the social care system’ are recognised and supported to cover costs but much more must be done, backed by further investment to support families early, invest in the workforce and meet the needs of children and young people so they can thrive. We will work with colleagues to support those calls. 

In terms of areas relating to fostering missing from the review and the Government response, we would like to see greater focus on foster carers as a full member of the team around the child, with equal status to professionals, so they can advocate for the children they know and care for. We would like the government to focus on that as part of their pathfinder activity. 

The Government are seeking views on their strategy until May 2023. The Fostering Network are currently planning the best way to gather feedback from members. Read more about the consultation process here.