CHRISTIAN foster carers and charities have welcomed new rules announced by the Government last week to “bring fostering into the 21st century”.
Up to 10,000 new foster-care places will be created over the next two years under the plans, backed by £88 million of funding, the Government said. The aim is to reverse a critical decline in the number of approved carers which has resulted in the placing of many more children far from home or in residential care.
The vision is “a simpler rulebook that puts trusted relationships first. . . The quality and number of loving, stable relationships a child has — while in care and into adulthood — should be the clearest measure of how well the care system is working.”
Under previous restrictions, approvals went to carers who were married, homeowners, and not working full-time. These were described by the Minister for Children and Families, Josh MacAlister, as “outdated rules and unnecessary barriers”, and in the Government’s stated vision as reflecting “outdated assumptions about family structures and caring responsibilities”.
The decline in numbers — from 63,890 carers in 2021 to 56,3345 in 2025 — is acknowledged to be unsustainable, and the detrimental effect on children’s health, education, prospects, and even life expectancy has been found to be severe.
The charities Safe Families and Home for Good welcomed the changes and urged more individuals to consider opening their homes to children growing up in care.
Anne and Alan, who have been foster carers with Cambridgeshire County Council for 13 years, have welcomed 49 children into their home. “It is common sense to prioritise investment into fostering over children’s homes,” the couple say.
“Anything that increases the number of fostering families by removing unnecessary roadblocks and increasing the practical support available is good news.
“In fostering, we have discovered more of God’s heart. The world tells us that families are precious, and so we should guard them carefully. But we’ve come to believe the opposite: families are so precious that they are meant to be shared.”