More cash for foster carers but Fife still faces shortage

The education and children’s services committee agreed a 2.5 per cent rise in the allowance paid.

A level two carer, who deals with children with more difficult or adverse backgrounds, receives an allowance of around £480 per week for a 10-year-old and £510 per week for a 15-year-old.

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Fife Council is ranked in the top half  allowances paid across Scotland – but there is still a shortage of foster carers available, despite a recent campaign to encourage more people to sign up.

Dougie Dunlop, head of enhancing opportunities for the vulnerable, told councillors: “We currently don’t have enough foster carers. There has been quite a successful recruitment driv which has allowed our current number of foster carers to remain the same, despite some choosing to no longer foster.

“Every local authority will always welcome having more registered foster carers. We recognise that the best outcomes for looked after children come from the foster setting.”

Councillor Rosemary Liewald welcomed the increase in funding available, saying: “The foster carers do an outstanding job, in what is usually a difficult situation, because of the trauma the children come with. The increase I think will be very welcome.”