Fees and allowances
Fees and allowances
We have increased our fees and allowances and now offer Council Tax exemption to our fully-approved Foster Carers who live in or outside of our city. In addition, we also offer annual allowances to help our fully-approved Foster Carers celebrate significant events in the lives of the children they are caring for.
Our financial package of rewards was launched in April 2026 as part of our commitment to financially support our fully-approved Foster Carers in recognition of the invaluable care they provide to our city’s most vulnerable children and young adults.
Council Tax exemption
Our fully-approved Foster Carers will be exempt from paying Council Tax as we try to help make their fostering homes more affordable. This is available to both Southend-on-Sea and out of city residents. For anyone living in Southend City the maximum exemption is up to Band D. For anyone living outside of our city the maximum exemption is up to the Band D equivalent where they live.
*To benefit from this exemption our fully-approved in-house Foster Carers have to remain available to provide care, have provided care for a Southend-on-Sea Child for at least 26 weeks in the year and to have met required training, support and development standards and be approved for a minimum of 6 months.
Weekly payments
Payments to fully-approved Foster Carers are made on a weekly basis. They consist of a fee paid to the foster carer and an allowance to help cover the cost of caring for a child or young person. The table below shows the child allowance in accordance with age.
Child Allowances
Weekly allowance by age group
| Age group | Allowance |
|---|---|
| Age 0–4 | £189.93 |
| Age 5–10 | £215.17 |
| Age 11–15 | £259.14 |
| Age 16–18 | £316.22 |
We pay a fee and allowance for every child you look after so the weekly payments will increase if you are caring for more than one child, based on the level of care each child needs.
Foster Carer Fees:
Foster Carer fees are as follows:
Foster Care Fee – £210
Foster Care Enhanced Fee – £315
Foster Care Specialist Fee - £420
Foster carer enhanced and specialist fees are dependent on level, experience and additional training of foster carer and the additional, complex sometimes multiple needs of the child/young person being cared for.
Annual allowances
In addition to the weekly allowance, our fully-approved Foster Carers will also receive allowances paid every year to help towards the cost of celebrating significant events in the lives of the children they are caring for. These payments will automatically be paid on an annual basis for every child our fully-approved Foster Carers care for.
To help celebrate religious or cultural festivals e.g., Eid, Diwali, Christmas – £100
To help with the cost of birthday gifts/celebrations - £200
Two weeks additional allowances to help contribute to a family holiday
To help contribute to prom attendance at age 16 - £200
We review all fees and allowances each year. Most fully approved Foster Carers do not pay tax on their fostering income. Information is available on foster carer tax, benefits and pensions at GOV.UK: Foster Carers and The Fostering Network website.