Council offers benefits to foster carers

Carers are being offered council tax exemption and sports and leisure memberships

Plymouth City Council is hoping to attract more foster carers and save millions of pounds each year.

Carers are being offered council tax exemption, sports and leisure memberships, help with planning permission, and better training and support.

The council hopes the package would make foster caring with it “irresistible”.

The aim is to persuade carers to choose the council over independent fostering agencies, which cost the council about £30,000 more per child per year.

The council currently has 159 children in independent care, costing an extra £5m a year.

Councillor Jemima Laing, deputy council leader and cabinet member for children’s social care said: "We need to address the balance of ratio of local authority foster carers to independent ones.

"We really need to get this right this time.

"It must be the most innovative, inclusive package that we can come up with to make a demonstrable difference.

"We want to offer a package that makes being a local authority foster carer irresistible."

'Celebrate' carers

The Education and Children’s Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee has recommended to Cabinet that a council tax exemption for foster carers is considered.

The exemption would apply to foster carers who have placements for at least 26 weeks a year.

Respite carers will receive 50% reduction if they have children for at least 91 days a year.

The cost to the council would be £224,530 based on the current 137 fostering households.

The council also plans to "celebrate" and listen to its foster carers.

"We have an awards night for the children and young people we foster and everything we are doing like this needs to be shared," said Ms Laing.

"Even giving someone some extra support and a bunch of flowers can make all the difference."