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Fostering allowance 2026/27: what's changing
The government confirmed a 3.35% uplift to the National Minimum Allowance for 2026/27, announced in January 2026 - a smaller rise than the 3.55% applied the year before, and still below what The Fostering Network says carers actually need.
Written by Sam Allcock · Last updated 24 August 2026 · Last reviewed 24 August 2026
What actually changed for 2026/27
The National Minimum Allowance (NMA) - the statutory floor every local authority in England must pay foster carers - rises by 3.35% for the 2026/27 financial year, confirmed in a January 2026 announcement. This follows a 3.55% uplift applied the previous year, for 2025/26. [The Fostering Network, allowances page]
Independent fostering agencies (IFAs) are not bound by the NMA in the same way - many already pay above it, and their own rates move separately based on individual provider pricing rather than this annual government-set uplift. See our local authority vs independent agency comparison for how the two routes differ on pay.
The confirmed 2025/26 table, for comparison
This is the table the 2026/27 uplift is being applied to - the exact, published statutory minimum, in pounds per week, by region and age band.
| Region | 0–2 | 3–4 | 5–10 | 11–15 | 16–17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | £198 | £201 | £225 | £257 | £299 |
| South East England | £189 | £196 | £216 | £247 | £288 |
| Rest of England | £170 | £176 | £194 | £220 | £258 |
Source: The Fostering Network, National Minimum Allowance table, 2025/26.
What that means once the 3.35% uplift is applied
The Fostering Network's official 2026/27 table had not been separately published in the sources available to us at the time of writing. The figures below are our own calculation - the confirmed 3.35% applied directly to the published 2025/26 table, rounded to the nearest pound - shown so you can see the scale of the change, not as an independently confirmed official table. Always check The Fostering Network's site directly for the final confirmed 2026/27 figures once published, as official rounding conventions may differ slightly from ours.
| Region | 0–2 | 3–4 | 5–10 | 11–15 | 16–17 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| London | £205 | £208 | £233 | £266 | £309 |
| South East England | £195 | £203 | £223 | £255 | £298 |
| Rest of England | £176 | £182 | £200 | £227 | £267 |
Our calculation: 2025/26 NMA table (The Fostering Network) × the confirmed 3.35% uplift for 2026/27, rounded to the nearest pound. Not an independently published official table.
Is this enough? The gap between the statutory rate and what carers say they need
The Fostering Network separately campaigns for higher rates than the statutory NMA, based on the Minimum Income Standard: £251/week for 0-4 year-olds, £343/week for 5-10 year-olds and £434/week for 11+ year-olds, for 2026/27. This is an advocacy ask, not what carers currently receive, and we're careful not to present the two as the same thing - conflating a campaign figure with the actual statutory rate is exactly the kind of misleading allowance claim we try to avoid on this site. [The Fostering Network, allowances page]
Why the rate matters right now
England had 56,345 approved foster carers as of March 2025, a net loss of 720 over the previous year and the fourth consecutive year of decline. The Fostering Network estimates 5,000 more fostering families are needed in England for every child to be placed with the right family. [The Fostering Network, 2025] Government has allocated £16m for 2025-26 and a further £25m for 2026-28, aimed at recruiting 400 additional fostering households - a modest sum against the scale of the shortfall, which is one reason allowance levels stay a live, closely-watched policy question each year. [The Fostering Network, 2025]