§ Mr. DawsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to review the fees, reimbursement of costs, training and support of foster carers. [44551]
§ Mr. BoatengThe level of allowances paid to foster carers is not set by central Government, but is determined by individual local authorities. It is for each authority to decide what amount it pays according to prevailing local requirements. Many authorities base the allowances they pay on those recommended and published each year by the National Foster Care Association, copies of which are available in the Library.
Training and support for foster carers is one of the issues being considered by the United Kingdom Joint Working Party on Foster Care. The group's broad aim is 410W to develop national standards for foster care. It began work in October 1997 and expects to publish a good practice guide in the spring of 1999. The Department is helping to fund this work. The training and support for foster carers was also addressed in the report 'People Like Us' by Sir William Utting, published in November 1997. We established a Ministerial task force to prepare its response to the recommendations contained in the report. Our response will be published later in the summer.
The Department is also funding work being undertaken by the National Foster Care Association to develop training materials for use by foster carers who are relatives and friends of the children being cared for, and for social work staff. The launch of the training pack is scheduled for March 1999.