Vol. 541 No. 5
218 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will review the decision to abolish the orphan's allowance payment and amalgamate it with the foster care allowance; the reason for this decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23380/01]
The allowances to be paid in respect of children placed in care under the Child Care (Placement of children in foster care) and the Child Care (Placement of children with relatives) Regulations 1995 have been increased from £71.55 (90.85) to £200 (254) per week for a child under 12 and from £85.75 (108.88) to £220 (279) per week for a child of 12 and over, from 1 August this year. This payment incorporates the orphan's pension and allowances payments. The new scheme was introduced as a result of the recommendations made in the report of the working group on foster care, Foster Care – A Child Centred Partnership. The report recommended that discretionary payments, made by health boards to foster carers be abolished, and that the allowances be increased to the new rates. The report further recommended, in view of the new allowances, that orphan's pensions and allowances should not be paid in respect of children in foster care.
It was not possible to implement the new scheme exactly in the manner set out in the report. The new scheme however is designed to achieve the objective of the report, which is to provide foster carers with an adequate allowance to look after their foster children. It should be noted that prior to the 1 August the orphan's allowance/pension was paid in respect of a minority of children in foster care. The revised arrangements will ensure that all children in foster care are treated equally. The recommendations regarding allowances are only part of a much wider set of recommendations designed to ensure that the structures and services necessary to meet the needs of children in foster care, their families and foster carers will be strengthened and further developed.
The Government is committed to implementing the recommendations of the report on a phased basis and as part of that commitment, in addition to introducing the new allowances, has already established the working group to draw up national standards on practices and procedures in foster care, as recommended in the report. The implementation of the report's recommendations reflects the Government's overall commitment to strengthen and further develop the child welfare and protection services.
