Review and increase foster care allowances and tax exemptions
13,310 people signed this petition to the UK Parliament after it opened on 24 October 2022; it closed on 24 April 2023. The Government responded on 31 March 2023. MPs debated it in Westminster Hall on 15 January 2024.
The petition
The petition's creator is not named in the Petitions site's published record. Quoted in full from the UK Parliament petitions site.
Review and increase foster care allowances and tax exemptions
We want the Government to review and increase allowances paid to foster carers, and also tax exemption levels for foster carers, so they reflect the true cost of caring for a child.
FosterTalk's Cost of Living report shows:
- 43% of carers may leave fostering in the next 2 years
- 56% of carers haven’t received an uplift in allowances and those who have, 90% felt it doesn’t cover the cost of caring for a child
- 38% of carers have experienced mental health issues due to the crisis
The number of carers is declining and it’s expected there’ll be a deficit of around 25,000 foster care families by 2026 in England alone. The cost of living crisis is worsening the situation.
The Government's response
The Government published its response on 31 March 2023; the petitions site lists the Department for Education as responsible. Its summary:
Allowances are reviewed annually. Minimum rates will rise by 12.43% from April. Tax allowances for foster carers have been reviewed and rise from April, representing an average annual tax cut of £450.
The opening 368 words of the 443-word response:
Whilst fostering can be hugely rewarding, we recognise that it takes hard work, skill and dedication. Foster families deserve to be valued and respected for what they do every day for our most vulnerable children. Allowances and tax arrangements for foster carers have both recently been reviewed and increased.
The Fostering Services: National Minimum Standards (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fostering-services-national-minimum-standards), issued by the Secretary of State under the Care Standards Act 2000, set out the expectations that are placed on foster parents and their fostering service providers. This includes the expectation that foster parents should not be financially disadvantaged because of their fostering role. We expect all foster parents to receive at least the weekly National Minimum Allowance (NMA), in addition to any agreed expenses to cover the full cost of caring for each child placed with them (standard 28).
The NMA is routinely uplifted each year. From April 2023, the minimum rate of allowance will increase by 12.43%. This represents an increase of between £17 and £30 in allowances per week, resulting in foster carers receiving £154 - £270 per week depending on the age of the children they foster and their location. This above-inflation increase to the minimum level at which foster carers should be paid will help foster parents cover the increasing costs of caring for a child in their home.
Qualifying Care Relief (QCR) is a tax relief available to support foster carers, in addition to some other carers. It ensures a carer’s income is not taxed unless it exceeds an overall QCR allowance.
As part of the budget, the Chancellor announced that the QCR threshold, a form of tax relief for foster carers and shared lives carers, would be nearly doubled to £18,140. In addition, to maintain the value of the relief in real terms, starting in 2024/25, HMRC will be increasing these rates in line with CPI inflation. This increase will ensure that the vast majority of foster carers are taken out of tax on their care income. These changes represent an average tax cut of £450 per year for foster carers, as well as simplifying the process for self-assessment returns for most foster carers. Further information on changes to QCR can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/increase-in-qualifying-care-relief/qualifying-care-relief-increase
Read the full response on the petitions site.
Where the signatures came from
Signatures came from 641 constituencies on the boundaries used until the 2024 general election. The largest number, 139, came from South Thanet.
13,299 of the signatures were from the UK and 11 from elsewhere, by the location signers gave.
| Constituency | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South Thanet | 139 |
| North Thanet | 125 |
| Folkestone and Hythe | 108 |
| Sittingbourne and Sheppey | 97 |
| Dover | 76 |
| Wyre Forest | 72 |
| Oldham East and Saddleworth | 71 |
| Bolton West | 66 |
| Makerfield | 66 |
| Ashford | 63 |
| Region | Signatures |
|---|---|
| South East | 2,190 |
| North West | 1,982 |
| West Midlands | 1,930 |
| South West | 1,302 |
| London | 1,070 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 1,039 |
| East of England | 1,034 |
| East Midlands | 991 |
| North East | 596 |
| Wales | 549 |
| Scotland | 526 |
| Northern Ireland | 22 |
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated the petition in Westminster Hall on 15 January 2024. Read the debate in Hansard. House of Commons Library debate pack.
Source and receipt
- https://petition.parliament.uk/archived/petitions/625515.jsonUK Parliament Petitions API · read 2026-10-15 · SHA-256
ec5048ea415b1a9a… - The petition on petition.parliament.uk
The petition's words are its creator's and the response is the Government's; this site quotes both and gives no view on either. Signature counts can still change while a petition is open. To report an error, send a correction request.