Pay for foster carers employed by Devon County Council will continue to be reviewed after criticism that a rise of less than two per cent is ‘way too little’.

The council’s ruling cabinet approved the 1.75 per cent uplift at its meeting on Monday, the first increase since 2019 because of the pandemic.

But the rise is significantly lower than inflation, which currently stands at 10.1 per cent and may increase further amid turbulence in the economy.

Cabinet member for children’s services, Councillor Andrew Leadbetter (Conservative, Wearside and Topsham) admitted it was ‘not a huge amount’ but said the rise was discussed before the current cost-of-living crisis and would be reviewed ‘moving forward’.

Foster carers can choose whether they apply to foster for a local authority or an independent fostering agency (IFA) to have children placed in their care. Both are regulated by Ofsted.

At present, Devon County Council’s foster carers are paid a standard weekly allowance of £329.10, which includes an element for attending training and support groups. The increase will mean just over £5 extra per week, starting on Saturday 1 October.

A further £90 or £160 may be paid for children with additional needs.

The pay structure is less than the rates of two local IFAs who pay carers standard allowances of between £400 and £435 per week, according to a council report, rising to as much as £600 with additional payments.

Currently, the average weekly cost to the county council for a fostering placement with these providers is £971, which it says, ‘reflects the full commercial business cost for the organisation.’

While it says IFAs provide ‘valuable flexibility’ and a ‘valuable service,’ the report to Devon’s cabinet explains how the council is ‘committed to increasing the number of in-house carers:’ which it hopes will reduce reliance on independent providers and reduce costs.

Proposing the increase, Cllr Leadbetter added: ‘This should have been carried out every year … obviously we’ve had the pandemic so it’s been rather put on the back burner and the actual increase was discussed before the current cost-of-living problems that we’ve got.

‘So, whilst it’s not a huge amount it’s a step in the right direction and we’ll continue to review this moving forward.”

But while Lib Dem councillor Martin Wrigley (Dawlish) said an increase “is to be welcomed,” he added it is “way too little” and criticised the lack of consultation on the increase.

“It seems daft that we do these things without talking to the people involved,” he said.

Labour group leader Carol Whitton (St David’s and Haven Banks) echoed the comments, stating: “We must make sure that our fees are continuing to attract and keep our foster carers doing the important job that they’re doing.”

Cllr Leadbetter agreed it was “not a huge increase,” but went on to say: “We are going to do some work moving forward on how we look at the whole service.

“So, it’s a small thank you at the moment and, as you all know, we’ve got a difficult financial position so it’s what we can afford at the moment.”

The cost to the council for the rest of the financial year is £136,000. Any further increase will be considered as part of the council’s medium-term financial strategy for 2023/24.

Devon’s cabinet also agreed to endorse and adopt a fostering friendly employer policy to support council employees who are also foster carers.