A charity is calling for a national minimum allowance for foster families.
Foster parents in Scotland are being subjected to a postcode lottery that can see payments very by more than £6,000 a year, according to a national charity.
The Fostering Network said Scotland’s position as the only UK nation without a national minimum fostering allowance means many families are losing out financially when they foster children.
Research for the charity revealed 30 of 32 Scottish councils provide an allowance below the Welsh national minimum allowance for at least one age group, while two-thirds have not increased allowances for two years.
The charity is now calling on the Scottish Government to make good on its promises to introduce and fund a national minimum fostering allowance for Scotland.
Sara Lurie, director of the Fostering Network in Scotland, said: “Our findings should be a catalyst for immediate action. Meeting the needs of children in care must be an absolute priority for the Scottish Government.
“In April 2016, the SNP manifesto pledged to provide practical and financial support for kinship and foster care families, and to also introduce a new national allowance for both. This still hasn’t happened. There is no doubt that this unfulfilled pledge is having an impact on children and young people in foster care and the families caring for them.”
Currently, all foster carers in Scotland receive a fee to recognise the skills and experience they bring to the role as well as an allowance to spend on the children in their care.
However, the actual amount paid depends on the carers’ local authority. Allowances can vary by as much as £122 a week, meaning some foster families will receive £6,344 less a year than their counterparts in a different council area.
Some local authorities offer supplements to the weekly allowance, such as money for baby items, driving lessons, school trips and more, but there is a lack of transparency about these extras and there is no guaranteed minimum amount that foster carers will receive to cover the costs of looking after the children in their care.
Ms Lurie added: “The Scottish Government is the corporate parent of children and young people in Scotland – indeed Nicola Sturgeon referred to herself as ‘chief mammy’ and among her many important responsibilities, she noted none more important than her responsibility as chief corporate parent.
“Most parents would strive to do whatever it takes to ensure their children have what they need to flourish. Now is the time for the Scottish Government to do the same for children and young people in foster care.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “Following our recent National Review of Care Allowances, improvements are scheduled to be introduced in April, once talks with COSLA are concluded.
“We have been monitoring apparent inconsistencies in the levels of care allowances being paid across Scotland which are a result of councils deciding levels of care allowances based on local practices and the specific needs of children and young people in their care.
“That is why we carried out a review of foster and kinship care placements in partnership with local stakeholders, including the Fostering Network.
“This found that local authorities had varying policies on what was incorporated into a core allowance and what was paid in extra additional payments to meet the individual care needs of a child or young person.
“We are working with COSLA on how we can best take forward all 12 review recommendations to improve consistency and transparency for looked-after children, their families and their carers.”
