Falkirk Foster Carers Demand Emergency Support to Survive Cost of Living Crisis

• A petition signed by over 60 foster carers in Falkirk demands an emergency increase in fees and allowances to improve conditions for fostered children
• Foster carers’ allowances have been frozen for the last nine years, and their fees have taken a 15% real terms cut since 2019
• Over half of carers have had to cut back on food and energy spending in response to rising costs

Wednesday 3 May 2023: Over 60 foster carers in Falkirk, Scotland have signed a petition to councillors demanding emergency improvements in support for foster carers and the children they look after. The petition, which includes signatures from more than half of all local authority carers, calls for an increase in fees and allowances in line with inflation. It was launched by members of the Independent Workers union of Great Britain (IWGB) and handed in to Councillor Fiona Collie on Tuesday afternoon.

The carers behind the petition report facing extreme difficulties to meet the soaring costs of living whilst fees and allowances remain frozen. To continue providing for the vulnerable children in their care despite the council shortfall, some have been forced to use their personal savings.

Since 2019, professional fees have been cut by 15% in real terms, whilst childcare allowances haven’t risen in nearly a decade. Against a backdrop of rising inflation, these pay freezes translate to a sharp decline in support, and are leaving carers at a loss on how to make ends meet. Since they spend more of their income on basic childcare costs like food and energy, carers are impacted by higher prices more than most.

A recent survey conducted by the IWGB’s Foster Care Workers Branch found that over half of carers have already had to cut back on food and energy, whilst at least 80% report limiting their spending on leisure. The pressure of keeping up with costs without proper help from the council is forcing some carers to move to private agencies, and others to abandon fostering altogether.

Whilst imposing real terms cuts on their own carers, the council continues to spend huge amounts on private fostering agencies, which costs them on average twice as much. The privatisation of Scotland’s foster care system has steadily increased since public spending cuts in the wake of the financial crisis.

Gillian McKirdy, a foster carer in Falkirk, says: “The council asks us to provide opportunities and experiences for the children in our care, but in reality the money they pay us barely feeds and clothes them. After a year and half of fostering, my savings have vanished, and I worry every day about how I can continue to provide all that our little one deserves. We need the council to face up to the full financial burden they are imposing on their carers, and to commit to eliminating that burden so that carers can get back to doing what we do best - loving, nurturing and providing for our community’s most vulnerable children.”

Kenny Millard, chair of the IWGB Foster Care Workers Branch, says:  “It is unacceptable and unsustainable that dedicated professionals providing 24/7 care for the community’s most vulnerable young people are being forced to subsidise the public service they provide. Investing in foster care is an investment in the future of our communities, and the time to make that investment - and sit down to hear carers’ concerns - is now.”

For more information please contact:

Ellie Butcher, Press Officer
press@iwgb.co.uk / 07883 887613