Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to (a) support children in foster care and (b) the work of foster carers (i) in Gedling constituency and (ii) nationally.

The government is committed to ensuring that every child in care grows up with the love, care and support they need to achieve and thrive. All foster carers receive the National Minimum Allowance to cover the costs of looking after the children in their care. In the 2025/26 financial year this allowance is being uplifted by 3.55%.

This government is supporting children in care by expanding the ‘Mockingbird Family Model’ which is an innovative evidence-based approach. Relationships are central to the design of the programme, which involves six to ten satellite families grouped into a constellation around a hub home carer.

In Gelding this is being delivered as part of the ‘Foster For East Midlands’ Recruitment Hub which launched in March 2024 and comprises of four neighbouring local authorities, Derbyshire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council, and Derby City Council.

Across England ten regional fostering programmes are live, working with 64% of all local authorities collaboratively to recruit and retain foster carers who will provide loving homes, local to the children who need them. An additional £15 million was announced to support this programme in the Autumn Budget 2024, and we intend to move towards full national roll out in the next financial year. We welcome discussions with other local authorities about our national expansion plans.