Recruitment of in-house foster carers & spend 2018-2022
Case reference FOI2023/00928
Published 26 June 2023
Request
1. Is your organisation currently recruiting in-house foster carers?
2. How many in-house foster carers do you need to recruit this year? (Please provide number of households and number of carers as separate figures).
3. What is your annual spend on recruiting in-house foster carers? Please provide annual figures for the financial years 2018-2019, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23.
4. What is your annual spend on Independent Fostering Agencies?
5. What is your annual spend on in-house fostering?
6. What is your annual spend on residential children's homes?
7. What is your annual spend on respite care and short breaks?
Response
1. Is your organisation currently recruiting in-house foster carers?
Yes
2. How many in-house foster carers do you need to recruit this year? (Please provide number of households and number of carers as separate figures).
Herefordshire Council need to recruit 20 households this year. These may be either couples or single carers so it is not possible to say how many individual foster carers.
3. What is your annual spend on recruiting in-house foster carers? Please provide annual figures for the financial years 2018-2019, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23.
2018/19: £5,000
2019/20: £5,000
2020/21: £5,000
2021/22: £5,000
2022/23: £5,000
4. What is your annual spend on Independent Fostering Agencies?
5. What is your annual spend on in-house fostering?
6. What is your annual spend on residential children's homes?
7. What is your annual spend on respite care and short breaks?
In respect of questions 4-7 please see below table.
| 2018/19 | 2019/20 | 2020/21 | 2021/22 | 2022/23 | |
| Net Annual Expenditure | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 | £'000 |
| Independent Fostering Agencies | 3,176 | 3,455 | 3,761 | 4,008 | 4,475 |
| In-House Fostering | 2,748 | 2,683 | 2,202 | 2,459 | 2,944 |
| Residential Children's Homes excluding the Children's Services Section 75 Pooled Budget Complex Needs Solutions Scheme | 2,829 | 3,603 | 6,902 | 7,967 | 10,588 |
| Respite Care & Short Breaks | 819 | 963 | 889 | 1,189 | 2,037 |
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
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