I know the difference that foster carers can make. When I was a boy, I had fantastic foster parents who then adopted me, and who always encouraged me in education and supported my aspirations.
And from my time as a councillor, I know what a difference foster carers make in our city – but also that recruitment and retention of good foster carers can be challenging.
So I’m really pleased to see the government this week announcing a £12.4 million new fund to make fostering more accessible and support more people to become carers, as part of wider drive to create 10,000 new foster places.
It’s right that one of the aims of these reforms will be to attract a younger and more diverse mixture of carers as well as improving the experience of fostering for existing carers. I understand that they will also encourage more flexible forms of care, such as respite or weekend-only fostering, whereby children spend time with foster carers at weekends or for shorter periods during a week.
This is a really good step in the right direction. And if you’re inspired to consider changing a child’s life in Southampton, I’d really encourage you to contact the lovely Southampton City Council fostering team.