Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Director of Children’s Services seeking agreement to a range of proposals intended to enhance the provision of locally based placements for looked after children. These include an increase of allowances and fees to foster carers; the strengthening of our informal kinship care strategy and the proposals as set out in the adoption reform grant.

The Director of Children’s Services submitted a report which sought agreement to a range of proposals intended to enhance the provision of locally based placements for looked after children. Such proposals included an increase of allowances and fees to foster carers; the strengthening of the Council’s informal kinship care strategy, together with associated proposals linked to the adoption reform grant.

Members welcomed the proposals which had been made, emphasised the importance of the support packages provided to foster carers, kinship carers and adopters, whilst also highlighting the need to maintain an all-party approach towards such matters.

RESOLVED –  That the following be approved:-

·  to increase foster carer allowances to 90% of Fostering Network recommended rates from October 1st 2013 and to 100% from April 2014 at an estimated cost of £380,000 in 2013/14 and £1,850,000 in 2014/15;

·  to restructure foster carer fees making them simpler to administer and more transparent at an estimated total cost of £390,000 in 2013/14 and £790,000 in 2014/15 .

·  to benchmark future increases in allowances to Fostering Network minimum rates.

·  to provide a range of additional support to informal kinship carers (cost neutral)

·  to support a range of proposals intended to improve the recruitment of adopters and speed up the adoption process at an estimated cost of £1,580,000 in 2013/14 and £1,620,000 in 2014/15.

·  (The estimated cost of the above proposals in 2013/14 is £2,100,000 after taking account of anticipated savings of £250,000 from accelerating the adoptions process. This is set against £1,720,000 of funding available from the Adoption Reform Grant (£630,000) and base budget (£1,090,000)).

·  (The estimated cost in 2014/15 is £3,550,000 which it is assumed will again be set against circa £1,720,000 of funding, leaving a balance of £1,830,000 to be managed within the 2014/15 budget strategy. This needs to be seen within the context of the Budget Plus strand for looked after children and the delivery of gross savings of £20,000,000 by 2016/17).