Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the potential feasibility of raising the Minimum Fostering Allowance in line with inflation.

The national minimum allowance (NMA) is uprated annually, with the next update to come into effect in April 2023. As part of the process of uprating, the department will discuss with HM Treasury as required.

The Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards, issued by the department under the Care Standards Act 2000 (CSA), set out the expectations that are placed on foster parents and their agencies. The department is clear that no one should be ‘out of pocket’ because of their fostering role and we expect all foster parents to receive at least the NMA plus any agreed expenses to cover the full cost of caring for each child placed with them (Standard 28).