How Much Do Foster Carers Get Paid?

Who this guide is for

Foster carers, and people thinking of fostering, anywhere in the UK who want to know what weekly allowance a fostering service pays for a child, and how that differs from the fee a carer can be paid on top. Each nation has its own rates, so the guide gives them nation by nation.

What this guide does not cover

• Tax on the money you get for fostering. See Do Foster Carers Pay Tax on Their Allowance?
• Benefits and Universal Credit while you foster, and payments for special guardianship, adoption or child arrangements. This guide does not cover them: ask Citizens Advice (Advice NI in Northern Ireland).
• Approval, reviews, allegations, placements being stopped, ending your approval and how to challenge it, and complaints about a fostering service. This guide does not cover them: ask your fostering service, or Citizens Advice (Advice NI in Northern Ireland).
• Whether a foster carer is an employee or worker, and claims about employment rights. This guide does not cover them. For your employment rights, ask Citizens Advice (Advice NI in Northern Ireland).
• Kinship carers and special guardians, apart from the Scottish allowance in the Scotland section below, which also covers kinship carers.
• The fee a particular council or fostering agency pays. Each sets its own. This guide does not cover them: ask your fostering service.

What the rules depend on

1. Which nation the child is placed in. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rates and different age bands.
2. The child's age.
3. In England, where you live. GOV.UK says the minimum allowance depends on where you live and the age of the child, and lists London, the South East and the rest of England. It does not say how it decides which area applies to you, so ask your fostering service.
4. Who the child is placed through: a council (a health and social care trust in Northern Ireland) or an independent fostering agency. In Scotland, for a child placed through an independent, voluntary or private fostering agency, the agency is responsible for the allowance, not the council.
5. Whether you are paid the allowance only, or the allowance plus a fee.
6. Which year you are reading about. The rates in this guide are for 2026 to 2027.

"What is the difference between the allowance and the fee?"

The allowance is money for the child's everyday costs. A fee is paid on top of it.

• Scotland: the Scottish Recommended Allowance covers the allowance only. The fee is in addition, and each fostering agency decides its fee.
• Wales: Foster Wales says a fee, which is sometimes called a foster carers' payment or an additional allowance, is paid on top of the allowance and is set locally.
• England and Northern Ireland: the official pages we checked give the allowance only. They do not give a fee amount, so ask your fostering service whether you are paid a fee and how much.

The Scottish Government's list of what its allowance covers includes food, toiletries, clothes, wear and tear, hobbies and activities, bedding, furniture, pocket money, toys, insurance and utility increases, computer and internet access, transport, a mobile phone, holiday costs, birthdays and Christmas or other cultural or religious events.

"How much do foster carers get paid in England?"

GOV.UK gives a minimum weekly foster care allowance, set by the age of the child and where you live. These are the rates for 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027:

• Child aged 0 to 2: London £205, South East £195, rest of England £176.
• Child aged 3 to 4: London £208, South East £203, rest of England £182.
• Child aged 5 to 10: London £233, South East £223, rest of England £201.
• Child aged 11 to 15: London £266, South East £255, rest of England £227.
• Child aged 16 to 17: London £309, South East £298, rest of England £267.

GOV.UK says the allowance is updated every April. There is no minimum allowance for a young person aged 18: ask your fostering service.

GOV.UK also says extra payments may depend on the child's needs, how many children you foster, your skills and experience, and your fostering service. You may be able to apply to your fostering service for extra money for school trips, holidays, birthdays and religious festivals.

"How much do foster carers get paid in Scotland?"

The Scottish Recommended Allowance is a weekly allowance for foster and kinship carers. The rates for 2026 to 2027 are:

• Child aged 0 to 4: £177.68 a week.
• Child aged 5 to 10: £206.71 a week.
• Child aged 11 to 15: £206.71 a week.
• Young person aged 16 and over: £283.35 a week.

Where the increase applies, it is backdated to 1 April 2026. Local authorities pay the allowance and decide locally how and when. Nobody should be worse off because of it: the allowance is the higher of what is already paid and the Scottish Recommended Allowance. The fee is separate and is in addition to this allowance.

"How much do foster carers get paid in Wales?"

Foster Wales, the fostering service run by the Welsh councils, lists these weekly allowances for 2026 to 2027:

• Child aged 0 to 4: £229 a week.
• Child aged 5 to 15: £208 a week.
• Young person aged 16 to 17: £260 a week.

Foster Wales names The Fostering Network, a fostering charity, as the source of this table. Ask your council's Foster Wales team to confirm the exact rate you are paid.

Fees are paid on top of the allowance and are set locally. Extra payments such as birthdays, religious holidays and mileage are separate and are also set locally.

"How much do foster carers get paid in Northern Ireland?"

The Department of Health's Model Scheme sets the scale rates for foster care allowances in Northern Ireland. The weekly rates from 1 April 2026 (Model Scheme 2026 to 2027) are:

• Child aged 0 to 4: £160 a week.
• Child aged 5 to 10: £178 a week.
• Child aged 11 to 15: £200 a week.
• Young person aged 16 and over: £235 a week.

The scheme says the allowance includes provision for food (including school meals), household costs, clothing and footwear, pocket money and travel. Foster carers are free to spend the food, household and travel parts as they think best for the child.

• Each placement is paid at least three sevenths of the appropriate weekly rate.
• When a child moves from one foster home to another, both sets of foster carers should receive the allowance for the day of the move.
• When a child is first placed, part of the allowance can be paid in advance if needed. Any advance is taken off the next payment.
• For enhanced allowances and short breaks a reduced rate applies: £115 (aged 0 to 4), £129 (5 to 10), £144 (11 to 15) and £169 (16 and over) a week. When a short break is arranged between 2 foster carers, the main carer receives the scale allowance and the short break carer receives the reduced allowance.
• Enhanced allowances for children with special needs are paid after an assessment, to the foster carer who has care of the child.
• If a young person aged 16 or over is in full-time education, carers receive the scale rates. If they are not in full-time education and have an income, they may be expected to contribute towards their maintenance. The amount is agreed between the young person, their foster carer and their social worker, and checked at a Looked After Child Review.

The scheme also lists extra payments. These are paid automatically:

• Holidays and outings: 3 times the weekly scale rate, paid in 13 equal amounts.
• Birthday: half the weekly scale rate. Christmas: one and a half times the weekly scale rate.
• More than one child: £10.45 a week for the second child and £21.20 a week for each later child.
• Retaining fee: £39.84, for up to a maximum of 12 weeks, where the intention is to use the foster home and there are no other foster children in the home.
• Disposable nappies: £73.43 every 4 weeks (24 hours) or £36.72 every 4 weeks (night time only).

Other extra payments are available if you apply and show the need. Some are paid in full, such as school items, setting-up costs, spectacles and tuition. Others are paid up to a set maximum, at the Trust's discretion, such as initial clothing and personal items. Mileage is paid at 45p a mile for journeys such as contact with the child's family, review meetings, training, outpatient appointments, respite care and school.

"Is the money taxed?"

Money for fostering can be tax free up to a limit called qualifying care relief. The limit and how to claim it are in Do Foster Carers Pay Tax on Their Allowance? The figures are not repeated here so the 2 guides cannot get out of step.

Traps

• The England figures are minimums. GOV.UK says extra payments may apply, so you may be paid more.
• The allowance and the fee are different things. If you are told a single weekly figure, ask which part is the allowance and which part is the fee.
• The rates are for 2026 to 2027 and change every year. Check you are reading the right year.
• Do not use another nation's rates. The age bands differ: England has 5 bands, Scotland and Northern Ireland have 4, and Wales lists 3 different amounts.