Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that foster carers who have had to shield during the covid-19 outbreak are financially supported until they can return to fostering.

The government has provided over £3.2 billion of additional funding to support local authorities in meeting COVID-19 related pressures, including within children’s social care. We will keep this under very close review over the coming weeks and months.

We are continuing to work with fostering services and sector organisations to better understand the specific challenges that foster carers are facing, including those who have had to shield during the COVID-19 outbreak. We know that local authorities and fostering agencies are responding to the challenge by finding innovative ways to continue to support their foster carers.

We want to ensure that the right level of support is put in place to keep foster families together, retain capacity and provide stability for children in foster care. This includes working closely with Fosterline, an independent advice and support line funded by the department, to consider what additional support can be offered to foster families struggling at this time.