Provider view: Key developments in foster care
By Harvey Gallagher, chief executive, Nationwide Association of Fostering Providers (NAFP)
The money local authorities have to spend from government grants, council tax, and business rates has fallen by 16 per cent since 2010. This means they have an increasingly limited capacity to respond to today’s significant inflationary pressures. These cost pressures feature in and distort all their actions.
Overwhelmingly, local authorities and independent fostering agencies (IFAs) work well together. The nature of mutual understanding, acceptance and collaboration has improved significantly over the last decade. Local authorities and IFAs negotiate around funding issues on a regular basis. The Competition and Market Authority’s (CMA) conclusion that independent fostering agency fees have been consistent since 2016, despite rising inflation, and therefore represent a real term fall in prices, mirrors our own research. However, the resources to address current inflationary pressures can only be provided by the government.
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