Foster care applications hit new five-year low

Initial foster care enquiries in England are at their lowest level for five years, prompting further concerns about the state of the sector.

The latest Ofsted figures reveal that in the year ending March 2023 there were 125,195 initial enquiries from potential foster carers. This was a drop of nine per cent on the previous year, and two per cent lower than 2018-19.

In the same period, more households deregistered (5,125) than were approved (4,080) leading to a net decrease in the number of fostering households. 

Numbers of new enquiries were significantly lower for local authority applications - 35,960 in 2018, but more than 10,000 fewer in 2023 at 25,820. 

Independent fostering agency (IFA) applications also fell, after a steady climb from 91,890 in 2018 to a peak of 126,985 during the pandemic year of 2020 followed by a sharp drop from 107,030 in 2021-2 to 99,375 in 2022-3.

Carers in their 40s and 60s made up the largest proportion of newly approved carers - 30 per cent were aged 40-49, and 32 per cent were aged 50-59.

The highest proportion of carers leaving foster care were aged 50 or over, at 64 per cent.

A further third (30 per cent) were aged over 60. These figures are similar for the four years data has been collected on ages of carers.

Only six per cent of the initial 125,195 enquiries resulted in actual applications to become a foster carer, falling from eight per cent in the five years since 2018.

Independent fostering agencies saw a conversion rate of just five per cent compared to 12 per cent for local authorities - and yet enquiries to IFAs made up 79 per cent of the total number of enquiries and accounted for nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of applications.

IFA applications made up 56 per cent (2,055) of newly approved households, and 47 per cent (1,740) were submitted and approved in a year - of these 75 per cent were completed within around eight months from start to finish, in line with Fostering Service Minimum Standards.

A higher proportion of IFA applications (83 per cent) than local authority applications (63 per cent) were completed in this time frame.

But more than half of applications to IFAs (57 per cent) were withdrawn by the applicant, compared with 48 per cent to local authorities.

At the end of March 2023, there were 43,405 fostering households in England. Of these, 35,005 were mainstream foster care households, which accounted for 59,380 foster carers. ‘Mainstream foster care’ refers to all foster homes, including those fostering to adopt. It excludes households where the primary placement offer is family and friends foster care.

Ofsted has previously expressed grave concerns about foster care in England, pointing to the fact that applications are failing to keep up with demand, and the range of carers available does not match children’s complex needs.

A spokesperson said: “As the number of children in care continues to grow, matching them with the right carers becomes increasingly difficult. This makes it more likely that very vulnerable children will face placement breakdowns and further disruption to their lives.”

A recent fall of 11 per cent in local authority foster care households has prompted concerns councils are turning to expensive agencies.

Jane Collins, chief executive of Foster Support, said: "As they fail to retain foster carers, [local authorities] waste an incredible amount of money, but in addition they lose all that experience and training."

A Department for Education spokesperson said action is being taken to support foster carers included raising financial allowances and reducing tax rates.

"We are also investing £27 million to deliver a fostering recruitment and retention programme so foster care is available for more children," the spokesperson added.