Scots foster carers say weekly allowance doesn't cover cost of caring for child

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Almost half of Scotland's foster carers said the weekly allowance doesn't cover the cost of caring for a child, according to a new report.

In its annual report released today, The Fostering Network said there is a "postcode lottery" when it comes to allowances with 47 per cent of those surveyed in 2021 saying the weekly allowance does not cover the full expenditure.

The foster carers also said they have to use their own money to help cover the cost of looking after the kids. It was revealed only 11 local authorities in Scotland increased their foster care allowances this year and nearly two-thirds of local authorities in Scotland have frozen their allowances in the past year.A third of fostering services in Scotland have had the same allowance for seven years and three other local authorities have had the same allowance for the last decade.

The charity has accused the Scottish Government of stalling on a commitment to introduce a national minimum rate for foster carers which has prompted local authorities to freeze rates, pending an announcement.