Lack of carers 'causing fostering crisis in UK'

The UK is facing a fostering crisis where retiring carers are not being replaced by younger people, while the number of children entering care homes is rising, a charity has warned.

- Rachel Hall

The decline in foster carers is due to the impact of the pandemic, the cost of living crisis, biological children staying at home for longer, spare rooms being used as home offices and changing family situations, the children's charity Barnardo's said.

Exclusive polling of more than 4,000 UK adults for the charity showed that although 73% of adults in the UK were worried there are not enough foster carers, only 7% of those who were not currently approved carers would consider fostering a child within the next 10 years.

When asked why they wouldn't consider becoming foster carers, 82% of over-55s thought they were "too old" - despite this being the average age of a Barnardo's foster carer - while 34% of 25-to 44-year-olds said they already had children or wanted children who were biologically connected to them instead.