Foster and kinship carers - Scottish Recommended Allowance: implementation review

Wider Feedback on the SRA and Associated Policy

Continuing Care

A young person born after 1 April 1999 who is looked after in foster, kinship or residential care has legal rights and entitlements (under section 26A(4) of the 1995 Act) to remain in their current care placement until they turn 21 i.e. to ‘stay put’. There should be no pressure or expectation placed on the young person to ‘leave care’ and continuing care should be offered routinely, with local authorities being legally obliged to support the decision. This is intended to provide the stability and security that young people need to remain with the family and/or in the environment that they have come to know and trust. Although not specifically part of the SRA, a great deal of feedback was given by stakeholders in relation to current continuing care arrangements in Scotland with perceptions that policy in this regard needed to change.

Most local authorities who took part in the survey (n=22) reported that they currently paid the £268.41 weekly allowance (i.e. the SRA rate for children aged 16-years-old and over). Where authorities did not pay this rate (n=8), there were significant differences in the rates and arrangements reported^[8].

Overall, 34 foster carers who took part in the carers survey indicated that they provided continuing care for young people. However, there appeared to be a lack of knowledge and a lot of confusion among kinship carers regarding continuing care and whether they were providing this, or differing interpretations of the question (with some responses suggesting that they hoped/intended to provide this in future). A further 20 kinship carers from the survey sample were reliably identified as providing continuing care.

Those who provided continuing care were asked whether the allowance they received was in line with the 16+ age band of the SRA (i.e. £268.41 per week) or if it was above or below this rate.

For foster carers:

• nine received in line with the SRA rate;
• three received above the SRA rate (although one noted this was only very slightly above);
• eight received below the SRA rate;
• one said they received no payment; and
• two did not know, while the rest either did not answer or did not indicate whether the payment was in line with the SRA, above or below.

For kinship carers:

• five received in line with the SRA rate (albeit that child benefit payments were deducted - even where these were not paid);
• one received above the SRA rate;
• three received below the SRA rate (one of which was receiving only a nominal payment to retain the child’s place with the kinship carer while in student accommodation);
• one said the payments had been stopped despite being advised previously that they would continue to receive this until they turned 21; and
• three did not know, while the rest either did not specify whether the payment was equal to, above or below the SRA rate, or did not answer the question.

While young people can, in theory, leave care at the age of 16 or 17, there were perceptions among carers, IFAs and TSOs that most carers and care organisations (including local authorities as corporate parents) were reluctant for that to happen, which was resulting in most 16 and 17 year olds (and many older children) being retained in care relationships. This was seen as in the best interests of the child in most cases and the best means to provide the stability and security that they needed. However, since the cost of continuing care is less expensive than foster care, some respondents noted what they perceived to be an increase in the movement of young people to continuing care as a potential money saving exercise (specifically those placed with carers on local authority contracts):

“We have also seen young people being moved to continuing care at 16, we suspect to avoid increased costs with SRA and to overall decrease costs. We received no funding whatsoever in this change.” (IFA)

This was one area where regional variation was noted in the way that the introduction of the SRA had affected IFAs and the contracts they held with local authorities, i.e. people being encouraged to move to continuing care at age 16 in some areas, whilst others supported 16 and 17 year olds to remain in foster care:

“…you’ve got a postcode lottery of 16 and 17 year olds where some of them feel the benefit of the SRA and others don’t because of a sort of set of, I suppose, historical issues around what I regard as misuse of that piece of legislation for 16 and 17 year olds.” (IFA)

Other more general comments were made that there was a lack of transition planning for young people leaving kinship care in particular, with no assessment or transfer to throughcare and aftercare (consistent with wider research which shows continuing care is not implemented consistently between, or even within, local authorities in Scotland^[9]). This means that carers often seek advice about what the procedures and processes are, how to access this support and what financial support, if any, will be in place when the child reaches the age of 16:

“There’s a lack of clear procedures and no wellbeing assessment. There’s a complete lack of preparation for transitions for either money stopping or continuing and it’s not a smooth process for the families, which is totally different for foster carers - there’s processes in place for when the child reaches the age of 16 or 18 and then what comes afterwards.” (TSO)

“We’re getting foster carers phoning up two weeks before a young person’s about to have their 18^th birthday. The lack of planning and foresight is really a massive stress.” (TSO)

“It’s really about really good care planning, really good relationships and looking at the needs of the young person and making sure we’re getting it right, not waiting till it’s too late. But not doing it at a time that that young person’s still, you know, navigating their way through school, education or relationships, which we know for our children can be really tricky at times sometimes for them.” (TSO)

Carers of older children too commented that they felt uneasy with current arrangements in place for young people approaching adulthood and some commented specifically that they would like to see legislation and action in this regard:

“We’d like to see the government legislate for support for kids once they become adults basically for continuing support cos most of these kids find themselves in a position in foster care through no fault of their own, through maybe parents with addictions or criminal convictions or whatever, neglect, things like that, sexual abuse. These are things that happen basically to kids and it’s through - 99% of these kids, they’ve got no control over it basically and a lot of these things that happen to them when they’re young could shape their future basically…We try to reassure [our kids] – “Look, you stay here as long as you want…our aim here is to get you away from abuse and poverty and things like that and make a life for yourself and get an education and get a good job and get a nice house and get a nice car and do all the things that normal people do basically.” (Foster Carer)

“Continuous care, I think it needs to be re-addressed cos, as I say, when our kid turned 16, they halved your money. They took away your allowance and you only get the kid’s allowance but you’re still expected to look after them. But they say, they’re independent and they’re not. These kids are not like normal kids.” (Foster Carer)

One particular concern was raised in relation to young people who do not stay in education, with some carers (especially kinship carers) expressing that they were worried about if their caring relationship and the stability they offered could be maintained if their children left mainstream education:

“My fear is, because to get that [SRA for aged 16+] he’s got to be in the extra education…And if he doesn’t stay - if he isn’t able to stay in extra education, it’s just going to be what happens then? It stops. I think it would be so hard. It would be so devastating for that to happen because the strain it will put on to me and to my husband, so I just hope that I never have to really cross that bridge. And I know that he’s never going to be ready to go on into the world himself at 16.” (Kinship Carer)

“The oldest one, she turned 18…and [the council] told me, no when she turns 18, the day she turns 18, her money stops. And I said, well, that’s actually - that’s quite bad, I said, because you’ve gave her that for all these years, I said, she’s trying to get into college, I said, and you’ve just cut off her money altogether and now she’s got nothing. And that’s the way it is just now. She’s trying to get into courses and the courses are full. Most of the courses that she’s went to go into are completely full. So, she’s not got any funds at all. Nothing. No money coming in. And I was like that, I said, that is – that’s not right. I don’t think it’s right, personally.” (Kinship Carer)

Third sector organisations were also keen to stress that there was also no parity when a child is non-looked after, i.e. a child with a Kinship Care Order in place who, if they were not legally looked after on their 16th birthday, would be unable to access continuing care allowance.

This was one area linked to the SRA where future legislation was welcomed by many to help achieve consistency in support for older young people around the country.

Emergency Placements

A lesser raised issue was in relation to kinship carers who become carers at short notice or in emergency situations. Overall, it was considered that there were gaps in terms of initial payments made to such carers and in making them aware of their entitlements.

Several kinship carers noted that they had become carers at very short notice, which had negatively impacted on them financially until they were made aware of the kinship allowance (which in some cases had been a long time):

“It’s been helpful [the SRA] because we had like 45 minutes notice to go and pick an eight week old baby up, so we had nothing at home for her…we funded everything ourselves initially…So we had all that initial outlay and we got nothing from the birth parents, you know, she came to us with - she had a bag with one change of clothes in it. So, that was it.” (Kinship Carer)

Unlike foster carers, who had a planned journey into caring, there were views that support in place for kinship carers was lacking, especially around financial advice and what kinship caring responsibilities may mean for a family in the long term:

“I think many of us would try and do the best thing if it was asked of us in a case of emergency. But you’re asking people to make a decision at a moment in time without maybe them being able to think through how long that arrangement might be for. So what seems doable for a particular time period, both in terms of financial implications, emotional implications, all of that, as we get into longer term, becomes very difficult for kinship carers.” (TSO)

Further, while Section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 monies were available to support families, there were views that rules in relation to its spend were employed differently across the country:

“It’s not done the same way across the country and I think there needs to be a greater focus on that point because, as we know for foster carers, you very much go into it voluntarily and you prepare and you have all that process with a social worker before you’re even sent to approval, before you’re even linked with a child. So, you have a lot of time to prepare and to understand the financial and other consequences of it and what this may mean for you. Whereas, for a kinship carer, it’s obviously an emotional undertaking and response to it that understandably trumps, can we afford this?” (TSO)

Recruitment, Retention and Movement of Carers

All stakeholders who were represented in the research agreed that the recruitment and retention of carers was a pressing issue that needed to be addressed, and that any bad publicity linked to the SRA, or any failure to raise fees and allowances or increase the SRA in line with inflation going forward may be a deterrent to future recruitment:

“We might not have got it right for the ones that are retiring but we owe it to the new carers and the new children coming in to care that they are in a system that’s going to support them right up until they [no longer] need it. And I think, if we don’t have that, that financial support set up properly and reviewed properly and supported properly, then I don’t think it’s a sustainable situation we’ve got.” (TSO)

Carers were among those to highlight that investment in more established carers was also as important as investment in those new to the caring role:

“A lot of investment is for new foster carers, but it’s the old foster carers really that have the experience for the children that come into the system, because the new ones, they’re not going to be able to deal with half the children that they get cos they’re just new…So, I feel more emphasis needs to be put on to the existing foster carers for retention and recognition by the social workers…you are going to lose the experience, and experience is the most important thing when you deal with traumatised children.” (Foster Carer)

In line with this, greater respect and consideration of the independent sector was urged, especially as it was estimated that around a third of foster children in Scotland were currently being cared for by carers employed by independent providers. Viewing the independent sector as an ‘add on’ was seen as outdated and misguided and instead, treating local authority fostering agencies and independent fostering agencies as two equal parts of Scotland’s fostering service was seen as essential in any future planning and development of the SRA or associated policy.

Comments were also made that there was an increasing reliance on kinship carers in Scotland, and that this was a risky situation going forwards if they do not feel valued or financially able to continue:

“…out of the four nations in the UK, Scotland is the one that uses masses more kinship care than anybody else. Almost the same number of kinship carers as foster carers…If those people are now less willing to care for those children because they feel hard done by, we will need the mainstream foster carers even more, and there’s not enough of them. So it would depend on how it pans out with the willingness of those people to continue to care for their children from their wider family networks…So the negative PR isn’t good.” (IFA)

A small number of IFAs expressed concerns that foster carers would potentially consider moving to local authority fostering contracts unless IFAs were able to keep their allowances above any SRA. That being said, only one IFA reported explicitly in their survey response that any of their foster carers, in any areas where they held contracts, had indicated that they may consider moving to become a local authority foster carer directly as a result of the introduction of the SRA. Other comments were made that carers typically did not move from IFA contracts to local authority contracts because they valued the wider support and relationships that they harnessed with these former organisations:

“We support our carers better than the local authority supports their carers. We pay our carers better and this is reflected in the time carers stay with us and that young people stay with our carers.” (IFA)

This was also born out in interviews with carers themselves, where they fostered through IFAs:

“That’s the one thing we do have with being with the independent agency is, we’re not short on support in any area, to be fair…It’s almost available 24/7, so there’s not any reason for me not to feel supported, if you like…we can’t complain about anything like that.” (Foster Carer)

The Promise was cited as a platform that could be better utilised to highlight the need for more foster carers.

Information and Support

The Scottish Government publishes information online to help professionals, as well as foster and kinship carers, to understand the SRA^[10].

Local authorities were asked to indicate the extent to which this information was being used by professionals in their local authority areas (for example, by social workers) to help answer questions from foster and kinship carers. Just over a quarter (26%; n=7) indicated that the information was used ‘often’ or ‘very often’ with just under half (48%; n=13) noting that it was used ‘sometimes’. The remaining authorities who answered this question noted that the information was used ‘rarely’ or ‘never’ (26%; n=7).

Only four local authorities reported that there were any frequently asked questions from carers that the Scottish Government online information did not currently address. These related to:

• kinship carers entitlement for child benefit versus foster carers;
• information for informal kinship carers regarding the definition of different types of kinship care, linked to eligibility for allowances (and that informal kinship carers do not have automatic entitlement);
• continuing care rates post 18 years; and
• the position in relation to reviews and yearly increases.

Table 23: Reported use of the Scottish Government online information by local authorities

Response options	Number	%	Valid Percent
Very often	2	7%	7%
Often	5	17%	19%
Sometimes	13	43%	48%
Rarely	6	20%	22%
Never	1	3%	4%
Don't know	3	10%	-
Total	30	100%	27

Local authorities reported that the main other sources of information from which professionals commonly sought information about SRA allowances were third sector organisations and national membership organisations including The Fostering Network, KCASS, AFKA and CPAG as well as the Citizens Advice Bureau and other local support groups. A small number of authorities also reported that they relied on either local social workers, welfare rights teams, local authority advice services or other “internal staff” to assist with queries.

While most authorities said that there was no other information or support from the Scottish Government that would be helpful to professionals in their local areas in assisting them with the ongoing administration of the SRA, some requests were made for:

• advance notice of any future increases, review dates and proposals on annual uplifts to the SRA (and for these to align with the beginning of the financial year to minimise the impact of mid-year back payments);
• clearer guidelines for kinship carers regarding what additional financial support can be offered/is available to assist with initial outlays/purchases (for example, buying nursery equipment, furniture, etc.);
• additional guidance in relation to payments for young people aged over 18 who remain in education and have additional support needs (ASN) or enhanced care needs (with a national response provided surrounding financial support for their foster or kinship carers); and
• more consistent use of language in the care field, for example, around fees, allowances, tiered payments based on skill, the differences between council, charity and ‘for profit’ fostering services, with existing terminology and variation in its use between areas currently making it a confusing landscape for foster carers.

Although not a requirement for additional information, one authority did suggest that additional support could be offered in the form of kinship payments being paid directly through Social Security Scotland (in line with child benefits) instead of by local authorities, to help bring consistency in practice and payment amounts.

Similarly, one authority urged additional support for young people who are not 'looked after' at their 16th birthday (by virtue of the Section 11 legislation) who they perceived were disadvantaged financially once their entitlement to care leaver status was removed.

Among TSOs and carers who had accessed the Scottish Government information online, most said that this was clear and easy to understand:

“The government website’s great. The information and advice about kinship care, what allowance and what you’re eligible for is really clear.” (TSO)

The information for professionals published online by the Scottish Government was, however, seen as being only rarely or sometimes used by those in the independent sector and as being moderately helpful.

All carer survey respondents were also asked if they had ever accessed any of the information about the SRA published by the Scottish Government online. Only 16% (n=22) of foster carers and 28% (n=38) of kinship carers indicated that they had accessed this. These respondents were also asked to rate how helpful they had found it, how easy it was to find the information, and how easy it was to understand the information:

• just over half of foster carers (59%, n=13) and half of kinship carers (51%, n=19) found the information helpful overall;
• similar proportions of foster and kinship carers said the information was either quite or very easy to find (45%, n=10 and 47%, n=17); and
• foster carers were far more likely to say the information was easy to understand compared to kinship carers, with 68% (n=15) of foster carers stating this was very or quite easy while 47% (n=17) of kinship carers said this was easy.

Only a few foster carers (n=4) indicated that they had been signposted to the Scottish Government’s online information, with various sources mentioned. These included other carers, the Fostering Network, their foster agency, and IWGB foster care workers.

Thirteen kinship carers said they had been signposted to the information, typically by KCASS, social workers or local authority kinship teams, third sector kinship organisations and support workers, and Money Matters.

All carer survey respondents were also asked if they had accessed any other sources of information or advice about the SRA, including speaking to anyone for help or support. Again, most had not, with 77% (n=105) of foster carers and 61% (n=82) of kinship carers indicating they had not accessed other sources of information. However, slightly more kinship carers (24%, n=32) had accessed other information compared to foster carers (12%, n=17). Sources of information were varied, with foster carers noting they had sought/received information from the Fostering Network, while kinship carers had used KCASS. Other sources which were used by both types of carer included social workers and other key workers; their local authority; support organisations/groups; support networks, including other carers; benefits agency; advice centres; and charities/third sector organisations.

All carer survey respondents were also asked if there was any other information or support from the Scottish Government, local authority or others that would be helpful in understanding the SRA. Nine foster carers and 13 kinship carers outlined additional information which might be helpful. A range of issues were highlighted, including:

Information needs identified by both foster and kinship carers:

• the provision of a simple leaflet, letter or booklet about the SRA and any others benefits which carers might be entitled to, any eligibility criteria, and general questions and answers;
• information about continuing care, e.g. payment rates, how long this will be received for, different options for the legal status of this age group and any implications of the different options, etc.;
• information about how the different allowance rates have been calculated, an explanation of why different age bands receive the same rates, and why carers generally receive the minimum rates; and
• clearer information and breakdown of payments on remittance notices, and contact details for any queries.

Information needs identified by foster carers only:

• any information would be welcomed by those who have not received any to date, including whether they are entitled to different payments and how to apply for/access these; and
• a breakdown of how the SRA rates are meant to cover all costs.

Information needs identified by kinship carers only:

• more information provided proactively, carers should not have to search for this;
• greater engagement with kinship carers to understand situations and circumstances;
• use simple and easy to understand language;
• more information on “hidden grey areas”;
• for Universal Credit/DWP staff to be more aware and understanding of the kinship carer role and requirements, and how the SRA interacts with other benefits;
• more information on overpayments;
• information about appeals processes; and
• information on nursery funding.

The other main information or support that was requested, mainly highlighted by carers in interviews, was some guidance from the Scottish Government on proportionate spend of the allowance against the items it was allocated for. For example, carers spoke of not knowing how much they were expected to ‘save’ for the child (if anything) as well as not knowing what proportion of the allowance they should reasonably allocate to such things as hobbies and activities:

“I’m still not clear on what I am expected to do. See if you ask any foster carer, they don’t even know what - like, what are the expectations? And the biggest one that kind of got me was you need to put savings by for them and this is on top of the holiday money. And I’m like, wait a minute. Where’s all this money coming from? And they set the pocket money, they tell you how much to give a kid pocket money…And I’m like that - where’s this all coming from?” (Foster Carer)

Carers in particular felt that a case study illustration or explanation of how carers might utilise their money to help them meet all of the costs specified as part of the SRA would be interesting and helpful, i.e. “a kind of guide for foster carers to know what they were expected to do with it [the allowance].” (TSO) Indeed, some long-term carers reported that they used to receive such guidance from their authority but that this was something that had stopped post-COVID (which they perceived was a money saving exercise).

Comments were also made (especially among kinship carers) that there was an absence of non-digital information available. It was felt that it may be appropriate to develop leaflets or booklets in printed form to be given to kinship carers at an early stage in their caring career, especially where digital literacy was a barrier:

“You can quite simply Google kinship care allowance and you’ll get lots of information coming up…I don’t know how it is for older people, you know. I don’t know if there needs to be a wee bit more clarity. There’s a lot of people that are not computer literate, so where else would they get that information from?” (Kinship Carer)

Future Legislation

All respondents were asked to share their views on whether the SRA should be legally enforced going forward and, if so, how the legal obligations should be framed. There was no real consensus across the various stakeholder groups with regards to future legislation in relation to the SRA.

All carer survey respondents were also asked to rate their level of agreement with a series of statements about the possible future of the SRA. The results are outlined in Appendix B.

Most foster carers (80%, n=109) and kinship carers (71%, n=93) either agreed or strongly agreed with option (a) the Scottish Government should mandate minimum SRA rates across local authorities and IFAs, but they should still be able to choose to pay above this. Conversely, the lowest level of support was for the idea that there should be no legal mandate and local authorities and IFAs should determine their own allowance rates, where just 11% (n=15) of foster carers and 11% (n=14) of kinship carers agreed to any extent, and 68% (n=92) of foster carers and 67% (n=84) of kinship carers disagreed to any extent.

Views were more mixed in relation to whether the Scottish Government should mandate SRA rates across local authorities and IFAs, which must be the rate paid. Kinship carers viewed this option more favourably that foster carers, with 61% of kinship carers agreeing with this option, compared to 40% (n=55) of foster carers.

Comments from both foster and kinship carers at interview were generally supportive of the need to establish a statutory mandated payment level to provide parity and equity/equality between different carers as well as within and between different local authority areas. Respondents felt it was important to set a fair and proper payment amount which provided everyone with the same level of support:

“Each LA should pay the same. It shouldn’t be a postcode lottery with some getting more than others.” (Kinship Carer)

“I believe all kinship and foster carers should be paid the same SRA across Scotland. It is unfair that some local authorities pay less, and others more.” (Kinship Carer)

It was also felt that setting mandated rates was important to make sure payment levels were protected from potential budget cuts, and that local authorities and IFAs could not choose to pay below this:

“The way the budgets go, if it wasn’t a set amount there would be no way of knowing if your payments were going to be cut or be fair.” (Foster Carer)

“If we left it to the local authority there could be significant discrepancies meaning some children will be deprived of items or forced to live in poverty.” (Kinship Carer)

Several foster and kinship carers also supported the need for flexibility. Respondents felt it was important to allow local authorities and IFAs to pay above the mandatory payment level in order to reflect differences in circumstances (e.g. for children with additional needs, to reflect different/higher cost of living in different areas, to reflect levels of experience (for foster carers), etc.). A few foster carers also argued that this was also a helpful tool to attract people into fostering, while kinship carers argued that payments needed to be sufficient to ensure there were no financial barriers to becoming a carer:

“Local authorities should be able to pay more to Foster cares for the 24/7 care that is provided and also for kids with higher needs and who can be aggressive and cause damage, extra payments should be available to carers for this.” (Foster Carer)

“Minimum requirements should legally [be] in place but consideration should be made to increase this amount in special circumstances i.e. Child with increased medical/physical/emotional needs. This should be reassessed if needs change.” (Kinship Carer)

Although in the minority, some kinship carers also noted that foster carers may deserve higher rates, because of the ‘additional commitments’ that it brought:

“There’s a lot in kinship that…they get upset because they think that it should be the same as foster payments. But you’ve got to remember that that is their job, that is their job and they have mandatory training to do. Kinship hasn’t. So, there’s all that that’s got to be taken into consideration.” (Kinship Carer)

A few respondents also supported the need for flexibility because they felt that the current SRA rates had been set too low. While they wanted equality across the country, they advocated for higher rates overall. This suggests that, had the rates been considered sufficient, there may have been greater support overall for option (b) a mandated set rate rather than option (a) to allow flexibility to pay above the minimum rates.

While very few respondents offered comments in support of there being no legal mandate with local authorities and IFAs being responsible for setting their own rates, one foster carer did value the ability for payments to be decided at the individual level.

Some carers who were interviewed were keen to see set rates, rather than a set minimum, as they perceived the ‘minimum’ would always be adopted by authorities if given the opportunity and they viewed ‘fixed’ allowances as being fairer;

“I don’t think there should be a minimum…There should be a rate identified basically, a ‘must pay’ rate…Not a minimum because if you bring in a minimum rate, it’s clear that most local authorities will try to pay that minimum rate. That’s what will happen…especially local authorities are being squeezed for things like that and that’s where they’re going to try and make savings…” (Foster Carer)

Some carers, especially IFA carers, felt that legislating across both local authorities and IFAs would help to reduce competition and make things more even for all carers doing the same job:

“If they legislated for it, that would help to make sure it was fair between different agencies and different local authorities as well.” (Foster Carer)

Some TSOs viewed that while the minimum mandate was helpful, it still allowed for some variation which was difficult for carers to understand and difficult to manage:

“I think the minimum is really helpful in that it does provide a safety net that nobody’s going to fall under that, particularly for kinship carers who aren’t regulated in the same way as foster carers are…but I do think you’re still always going to get that variation, particularly from the independent providers who will try to pay more than local authorities to attract carers for fostering. The SRA has not helped with that.” (TSO)

While the minimum was very much welcomed, the scope for continued discrepancies across the country remained open with this option and this undermined what the Scottish was hoping to achieve, it was felt:

“I think in terms of it being essentially a minimum rather than a dedicated [sum], I think that’s brilliant, I think it’s aspirational, I think it’s fabulous. We want to give carers as much money as possible in my view. The very obvious unintended consequence is that some fabulous local authorities will pay more so, once again, we end up with a postcode lottery.” (TSO)

All but one IFA agreed that the Scottish Government should mandate minimum SRA rates across local authorities and IFAs, but they should still be able to choose to pay above this. IFA representatives were also the only group in the research to question the relevance of equal pay in all areas, their priority instead being equal pay between local authority and IFA providers within the same area:

“I understand why an individual local authority might want to pay whatever the independent agencies are offering in terms of allowances because there’s an element of competition for the foster carers. But across the local authorities, I’m not sure that’s a valid argument.” (IFA)

There was no consensus among IFAs on whether the Scottish Government should mandate SRA rates across local authorities and IFAs, which must be the rate paid (with views ranging from strong agreement with this approach to strong disagreement and some neutral views also expressed). Where people supported mandating rates, this was largely to achieve consistency for children and young people:

“While I feel there should be a minimum in place, mandating for the same rate of allowance would ensure all children have consistency.” (IFA)

Across the research, some stakeholders also expressed a preference against future ‘recommendations’ which they felt were too soft and easy to overlook:

“They [the government] will pass these recommendations but that’s all they are is recommendations…If it’s taken you 10 years to get to this point, why are you still putting this get out clause as a ‘recommendation’? Because that’s what it is. It’s a get out clause.” (Foster Carer)

Comments were also made that, instead of legislating for minimum or standard allowances, legislation should be introduced that forced providers, both local authorities and independent agencies to publish their allowances annually. This would ‘shame’ those paying below what might be reasonably expected into taking action, it was felt.

Miscellaneous

A small number of other issues were raised across the research which could be traced to specific stakeholder groups.

Several foster carers stressed the need to review the overall amount of money paid to them. They highlighted the lack of uplift in payments over many years (with some indicating this had not increased in 20+ years), the increasing cost of living and inflation, the limited amount of paid holidays, and the lack of a pension. They called for fair pay, inflationary increases, and workers’ rights, with a few suggesting they should be made employees rather than treated as self-employed. A few also noted that the current financial situation for foster carers was making them reconsider their future:

“I think foster carers always have to dip into their own pocket. There was a time when cost of living was not so high and it was not a problem but now it is dire. My winter bills have gone through the roof and inflation too. Yet the increases are not in line with these. Why? Considering we change lives for little children and are pivotal to this, the government really need to appreciate by rewarding us remuneratively. We are not a charity and have to make a living like the rest of society!” (Foster Carer)

One foster carer called for greater collaboration with the different local authorities to ensure payments across the country are consistent and set at a realistic level. Similarly, others perceived there to still be differences in the payments between local authority and IFA carers. Some suggested that local authority carers receive less than those fostering via IFAs (however, it was not clear to what extent this related to the allowance, fee, or other payments). One respondent, however, noted that SRA back payments had not been made by IFAs (due to local authorities not passing on the necessary funding for this to the IFAs).

The insecure nature of the placements and income associated with fostering was also discussed. One respondent highlighted the financial challenges that can occur when placements come to an end and there is a gap until a new placement starts or involves a slow introduction period. Another highlighted that foster carers often have bigger houses to accommodate more children, require bigger/more cars, etc., with the cost of these continuing while the carers are between placements. It was suggested that retainer fees should be provided for these periods to ensure that knowledgeable and experienced carers are not lost.

There were also several calls across the research elements for a review of fostering fees to complement any future review of allowances:

“I don’t think we can consider allowances in isolation without fees when we’re looking at financial support, and that is the problem.” (TSO)

Many kinship carers and TSOs also argued for reduced complexity with kinship care arrangements:

“The kinship care system in Scotland is just so unnecessarily complicated, tricky to navigate and inexplicably unfair. The SRA is just another part of that system.” (Kinship Carer)

Kinship carers also described feeling undervalued and taken advantage of compared to foster carers, with lower levels of overall financial support, no fee for the carer, less formal/practical support available, little/no access to specialist support such as counselling or therapy for the child, no training for the carer, etc. Indeed, several felt that greater parity was still needed overall between foster and kinship carers:

“When you get kinship child or children they want us to fight for them…so it feels like we’re begging for everything. It’s 2025, nothing much has changed in 22 years, we shouldn’t have to go through what we do, everything should come to us naturally, foster carers that’s a job with wages and more than we get, more allowances for each child, we do it out of love, I’ve said for years we’re forgotten about.” (Kinship Carer)

Various other issues were raised in the course of the fieldwork which, although were not related explicitly to the SRA, were aligned with it and the focus on reducing child poverty. This included comments from carers that the Scottish Government could consider:

• entitlement to additional free nursery hours for pre-school children;
• free school meals for cared-for children of all ages;
• free access to all local authority activities and events for cared-for children (including school holiday clubs/camps/activities and local authority gyms/sports centres);
• housing benefit entitlements for carers;
• reducing or foregoing council tax for carers; and
• hardship payments or grants being routinely available, especially for kinship carers who often find themselves caring at very short notice.

In addition to these measures facilitating better opportunities and outcomes for cared for children and their families, it was felt they could help aid recruitment and retention of foster carers, which was seen as a pressing concern for Scotland as a whole.

There were also calls among TSOs for better inspection and regulation of the fostering and care sector as a whole.

The main other comments received from local authorities in relation to the SRA were calls for future uplifts and the need for advanced warning of any increases to the SRA to be aligned with the start of the financial year to enable local authorities to implement any future changes efficiently.

Similarly, authorities reiterated that the lack of Scottish Government uplift to date had left some with a deficit and cited other budget constraints at the local level which had meant that they had been unable to offer any increase in payments for carers directly. They again urged the Scottish Government to make more money available for carers going forwards to allow payments to increase and assist with the cost of living crisis.

Finally, several stakeholders, including TSOs, IFAs and local authorities noted that, while carers had welcomed the introduction of the SRA and the increased consistency and parity that it had brought, for the SRA to continue to be meaningful, it was important that it was subject to regular review, annual inflationary increase and other modifications to remain fit for purpose over time. Engaging all those affected in any future discussions in this regard was also encouraged.