Issue - meetings

1.

Title of Item/Report

Foster with North East Expansion

2.

Record of the Decision

Consideration was given to a report on Foster with North East Expansion.

The purpose of the report was to seek Cabinet approval for the Council to take part in the expansion of the Regional Fostering Hub in line with the Department for Education (DfE) expansion programme.  This would build on the Foster with North East (FwNE) pathfinder that had been in operation since 2023 and all North East Councils were part of, but also required a move to an ‘End-to-End’ model encompassing all aspects of the Fostering process.

Children in Care sufficiency was the most significant risk and financial pressure to Councils across the North East and nationally.  Following the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care in 2022 national policy, supported by proposed legislation in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, had identified regional working as key to addressing these challenges.  The Competitions and Market Authority (CMA) had also reported that the current model was dysfunctional driving up costs and delivering poor outcomes.

DfE was progressing at pace on this agenda publishing a blueprint including regional fostering, Renewing Fostering: homes for 10,000 more children, in February 2026 and guidance on the next stage of development for Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) in March 2026 Apply to set up a regional care cooperative - GOV.UK along with an Expression of Interest (EoI) for six further regions to become RCC’s.

Foster with North East (FwNE) was established in 2023 as the National Fostering Pathfinder, hosted by Together for Children and with all 12 councils in the region participating.   An evaluation of FwNE was carried out last year and it was recognised that expansion of the model to an End-to-End approach was essential to achieve the benefits of the regional approach.  It was positive that national policy and some additional funding had now aligned with that view.

DfE policy statement sets out seven minimum requirements for an expanded Regional Fostering Hub along with a specification and very tight timelines to establish and implement the model.   A fully costed plan needed to be submitted to DfE by 1st June 2026.  The work undertaken in the region to develop the model, financial planning and implementation are set out in the body of this report.

DfE provided over £2m of funding to FwNE to establish it and for initial running costs, however in 2025-26 the current model was fully funded by the 12 LAs through a population-based formula.  In 2026-27 it’s projected that the model would cost approximately £2m with £500k of funding through government grant.  A commitment had been made that the financial contributions from individual LA’s would be maintained at 2025/26 levels, and the efficiencies would be sought to support the expansion of the Hub.  For context in 2023-24 the region spent £540m on children in care placements and costs continued to rise at an exponential rate.  Financial details  ...  view the full decision text for item 17.