Recommendation 4

To reduce the demand for children’s residential care, the Department is relying on there being more foster carers, but it has yet to address the significant challenges to increase numbers. The Department sees reducing demand for residential care as key to reducing costs. To do so, it plans to work with children at an earlier stage so they do not need to be looked after by a local authority, and then also increase foster carer household numbers. However, between March 2020 and March 2024, the number fell by 9%, when excluding fostering with friends and family. The Department has initiatives to increase foster care numbers but lacks clear evidence that they are working, with its evaluations too early yet for clear results. It has also launched hubs to co-ordinate recruitment and improve the support foster carers receive. However, it is unclear how this will address the underlying barriers to increasing foster care, such as the cost of living, issues finding spaces in homes, and foster carer’s pay and fees. Some local authorities have used their discretion to adopt initiatives, such as council tax reductions for foster carers. However, the Department does not systematically encourage and direct these initiatives and is waiting for progress on wider initiatives. recommendation Drawing on what local authorities are doing, and its own analysis, the Department should set out how it will address the barriers to increasing the number of foster carers, with a clear timeframe and milestones.