Can foster care overhaul stop ‘exodus’ of carers?

Nearly 82,000 children in England are in the care of local authorities – close to record levels – but there are nowhere near enough approved foster carers. To tackle this shortfall, the government has announced plans to create 10,000 new places for vulnerable children by 2029, as part of a £88 million pledge to overhaul the fostering system.

Increasing the number of foster carers is “an urgent priority”, said Josh MacAlister, minister for children and families. We’re “bringing fostering into the 21st century, removing outdated rules and unnecessary barriers to become foster carers”.

But experts say recruiting more carers won’t ease the retention crisis that is driving the shortfall. In England, the number of foster carers fell from 63,890 in 2021 to 56,345 in March 2025, according to the BBC: a 12% decrease.

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What did the commentators say?

“The foster care system in this country is collapsing,” said Mary Wakefield in The Spectator. Every year, the pool of people prepared to care for vulnerable children shrinks. No wonder – “burnout and unbearable stress” have around 60% of foster carers saying they are considering or have already decided to withdraw from the system. The 2024 Budget included around £44 million to support regional fostering recruitment hubs, but “what’s the point of a grand recruitment drive if all you’re doing is ushering people towards a nervous breakdown?”

High rents, unstable or crowded housing and unpredictable work patterns “keep many under-35s out of fostering”, said The Times. And “for younger carers in particular”, the lack of professional support “reinforces the sense that fostering is a world designed for older people”.

Several of MacAlister’s proposals target the “support systems” that surround carers, said The Guardian. These include calling for stronger collaboration between councils, grants for experienced carers to extend their homes to take on additional children, and specialist placements for young people on remand, “as an alternative to custody”. These are welcome ideas, as is speeding up the approval process, which currently takes longer than it does for prospective adopters.

But they are also familiar ideas, said Nick Martin on Sky News. “For more than a decade, successive governments have announced plans to attract foster carers while quietly avoiding the harder question: why so many are leaving.” None of MacAlister’s (admittedly sensible) plans answers the question foster carers keep asking: “How are we meant to afford to do this?”

There are no UK guidelines for foster carer fees: rates “vary wildly”, yet often amount to “well below the minimum wage for what is effectively a 24/7 job” – and a stressful one. Private agencies are also “an elephant in the room”. They typically pay carers far more than local authorities, “at far greater cost to the public purse”. The government’s plan doesn’t “tackle that imbalance”.

The future of the care system rests on whether the government is “willing to confront the uncomfortable truth”: that fostering “relies on goodwill, personal sacrifice, and carers quietly subsidising the state. Until that changes, no amount of branding, roadshows or recruitment slogans is likely to stop the slow, steady exodus from a system many say is already at breaking point.”

What next?

There are still “significant gaps” in the plan, said The Guardian. “It is unclear who will lead and sustain” the proposed reforms, and there is also “little sign of firm action” on the “excessive profits” earned by private providers. “So far, pledges to end these amount to little more than threats.”

Sarah Thomas, CEO of the Fostering Network, would like to see fostering fees standardised. “Fees must also be competitive to bring more carers into the field,” she told The Times. “This is particularly relevant if services want to attract a greater skill level and for the public to see fostering as a viable role.”

Ultimately, said The Times, “this is not a job you can do for love alone.”