CoramBAAF response to the announcement of the government’s new fostering action plan, consultation and the target to increase the number of foster carers by 10,000
CoramBAAF welcomes the government’s announcement of their action plan to develop fostering, increase the number of foster carers and invest funding into support, training and innovation. We will be working closely with local authorities, agencies, partners and the government to deliver the changes needed to improve the lives of children and foster carers. As the leading membership organisation working with practitioners across local authorities and independent fostering agencies, we will be listening to our members to enable us to respond to the consultation and call for evidence with their views.
The government has today announced an action plan to expand fostering over the coming years, with an ambition to recruit 10,000 more foster carers by 2029. This is accompanied by a consultation and a call for evidence in relation to the proposals. The target to recruit foster carers is high and this reflects the motivation for children to have options available to them as opposed to simply being matched with someone with available space in their home. Being a foster carer is a complex role, steeped in responsibility, that can be transformative for children and young people. In delivering on this ambitious target, it will be important to focus on continuing to make sure that we get the right people to foster. Consideration must also be given to the impact on all types of fostering, including kinship foster care.
Foster carers want to get it right for the children in their care but too often we hear that they feel as though the systems are working against them. The Minister’s call for system wide change is therefore welcome. Over the past five years, we have seen a significant decline in the number of local authority foster carers. The reasons for this decline are wide‑ranging, but the impact is clear: fewer foster carers mean fewer opportunities for children in care to experience the long-term, loving, and supportive homes and the care they need. Through our members we know how creative fostering services (both local authority and independent fostering agency) can be at championing the needs of foster carers and how hard they work every day to support the retention and recruitment of foster carers. The action plan is building on this work.
To drive improvement there will be a national recruitment campaign, new digitial tools and new models of fostering. There will be significant investment in more regional collaboration, innovation and support for carers. The government will rewrite the national fostering standards and guidance, as well as care placement planning and review guidance, and also work with Ofsted to reshape inspection.
Expansion of the regional programme for fostering
Today’s announcement also marks a significant shift in the government’s approach. It signals further development of the regionalisation programme that began several years ago with the creation of regional recruitment hubs. The changes are likely to have a significant impact on all local authority fostering teams, with greater investment in regional fostering hubs and regional care cooperatives to deliver core fostering activities. We will be working alongside our members to support them through this transition.
Consultations:
Removal of panels: A key part of the action plan is consultation on the removal of the requirement for fostering panels to make recommendations for initial assessment of foster carers and for the one-year annual review process. We know members may have concerns about this proposal, given the potential impact on assessment processes and decision making. We will be actively seeking the views of our members to ensure that insight from practice informs our response.
Allegations and standards of care: The government is also consulting on setting out clear distinctions between allegations and standards of care concerns, new guidance on providing support for children and carers who are experiencing an allegation and making the allegations process fairer and more transparent. We will also be seeking views of members on these proposals.
Call for evidence
Alongside the action plan and the consultation, a call for evidence has been launched. This focuses on areas where the government want to gather further information from the sector and those with lived experience of care about possible future reforms to the fostering system. These areas include:
- Financial transparency
- A foster care register
- Amending the fostering limit
- DBS checks and vetting for prospective foster carers
- Consistency in handling of allegations for those inside and outside of the care system
- Innovation
- Removing barriers for kinship care.
As the professional membership organisation for fostering, adoption and kinship care, CoramBAAF represents practitioners across independent fostering agencies and local authorities. We will be sharing the consultation widely with our members and discussing the proposals within our practice forums and advisory committees so we can provide a strong, evidence‑informed response on behalf of the sector.
Fundamentally, this is an ambitious set of proposals. The government has made clear its intention to make a meaningful difference to the lives of vulnerable children through this work, and we commend the Minister for taking this forward. CoramBAAF will now be working closely on the proposals, ensuring that the views and experience of our members shape the next stage of development. We will keep members informed via regular updates, newsletters and events.
We will be holding a briefing session for members about the reforms with a presentation by officials from the Department for Education on Monday 9 February 2026. Sign up here.
We will be holding our fostering conference on Monday2 March 2026. Book your place here.
Our next practice forum on fostering will take place on Tuesday3 March 2026. To join, sign up here.