Apology over foster service issues by Devon council boss

An apology has been made by the most senior official of a Devon council about the performance of its fostering service.

Donna Manson, the chief executive of Devon County Council, said efforts were being made to improve the council’s fostering service but that the process of assessing potential foster carers had been inadequate.
“There is an absolute recognition and apology from us as a staff group that we haven’t quite got it right in responding to foster carers in recent years and we want to make sure we can get this right now,” she said.
“We know the service is on an improvement journey and we have had lots to do, but the fostering service is a really important partner and we need help to get it right.”
The cabinet heard that Devon had seen a 30 per cent decline in foster carer numbers since the pandemic – down to around 225 from approximately 325 before Covid – meaning more children in care were having to be put into residential care homes.
Ms Manson emphasised that the level of support needed to make the foster service better could “only happen with members of this council” putting every effort into promoting and supporting it.
She added that a report put to the council’s cabinet this month acknowledged a key improvement that needs to be made.
“Many people have applied to become foster carers and the process wasn’t the best for them, so within this paper is an absolute commitment for us to do a better job in how we interact with people who do come forward,” Ms Manson said.
“I want to publicly say that for some people who came forward, we didn’t have the level of capability or service to get it right for those people, and our door is open to re-engage with you to get it right as we know many people were lost in that process and we would love to welcome them back.”
Papers show the fostering service is only recruiting between 10 and 12 foster carers a year, even though around 240 enquiries are made. The council now has a target to recruit 28 in the 2027/28 financial year.
The comments come as the cabinet agreed to spend an additional £2 million on top of the service’s £12.2 million annual budget.
The majority of the increase relates to the continued payment of the flat rate basic allowance for foster carers, plus other fees.
Councillor Graham Bell (LIberal Democrat, Braunton Rural) welcomed the additional funding, but noted the pressure on the fostering service in Devon and the need to rethink how money gets to foster carers.
“We need to retain foster carers as some are dropping out of the system as they are ageing,” he said.
“Some foster carers are now the foster grandparents to children they put through the system, and yet they are still fostering new children.”
He added foster carers were “scrutinised out of the ying yang” because of the vulnerable children they were looking after, but suggested that the council might consider paying them their expenses in advance.
“Our foster carers’ allowances works quite well but with expenses, they are having to spend their own money and then claim it back and wait for that payment,” he said.
“We need to be paying that money in advance as it would make life easier for them and show we trusted them and that we think they are good at what they do.”
Councillor Michael Fife Cook (Reform UK, Yelverton Rural), said the report showed it was a “pretty dire situation”.
Earlier this month, the council appointed Councillor Robin Julian (Reform UK, Bideford West & Hartland) as its fostering member champion.
Cllr Julian, who was elected to Devon County Council last year but previously held a seat between 2013 and 2017, has also served as a special constable in Sussex.
As part of the role, the council said Cllr Julian will lead the scrutiny of the fostering service, push for more recruitment and retention of foster carers, and be tasked with making sure the voices of children in care are heard.