Fostering under threat in Essex, council says

Fostering is under threat in a county due to a falling number of carers coming forward, a council has said.

Essex County Council said it needed to urgently recruit 60 more foster parents to take care of the increasing number of children coming into care and replace the 50 who were about to retire.

John Spence, the Conservative cabinet member for children's services, also said he was frustrated that only one out of 12 district and borough councils in the county had completed the fostering-friendly employment registration.

"Foster care is under threat," he said.

"So many foster care parents are growing older, and so many of the challenges they face are harder."

Spence said there were risks to youngsters being placed in children's homes and it was better for them to remain in their own home or another family setting.

With "great regret", Spence said only Harlow Council had completed the registration process.

Essex County Council says the registration helps employers support staff who are fostering.

"Every leader and chief executive - I was assured by those who could see the knots - agreed that they would create a fostering-friendly employment offer."

Spence said Territorial Army members were offered similar opportunities by employers.

This can include paid time off or flexible working hours for carers who need to settle children into their homes, attend care meetings or training.

• About 800 children were in foster care in Essex at the beginning of 2025
• Of those, 688 were cared for through the council's internal fostering scheme
• Essex has 492 foster carers
• The average pay for foster parents increased by 16% this year and a £2,000 welcome bonus was introduced
• Residential care is more than 10 times as expensive as placing children in foster families, the council says
• Nearly 100 children in Essex are in residential care that costs an average £300,000 per child per annum

With a major shake-up of local councils being planned in Essex, Spence issued a further warning.

"If we are going to have local government reorganisation, you will not be financially sustainable as a council without fully embarking on foster-friendly employment processes both in your own house and among the major businesses surrounding it.

"This is an issue we cannot lose."

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