Council or independent fostering agency: how to choose

Two routes to the same children

Every foster carer in the UK is approved by a fostering service. In England, Scotland and Wales that is either your local council or an independent fostering agency (IFA). In Northern Ireland most carers foster through their Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust, though agencies exist too.

A council service recruits, assesses and approves carers for children from its own area; the council is the child's corporate parent and holds the care plan. An IFA does the same but has no children of its own to place: it offers its carers to councils that cannot find a match among their own carers or need a specialist placement. IFAs can be profit-making companies, charities or other not-for-profit bodies; in Scotland they cannot be run for profit.

Both routes lead to the same children, and you can only be registered with one service at a time. The sectors are similar in size in England: Ofsted counted 18,415 mainstream council fostering households and 15,020 agency households at 31 March 2025.

How each route is regulated

Both routes are inspected, but differently. In England anyone running an IFA must be registered with Ofsted under the Care Standards Act 2000. Ofsted inspects each agency against the Fostering Services (England) Regulations 2011 and the national minimum standards, and publishes a graded report. Council fostering services are not registered separately; Ofsted looks at them within its wider inspection of the council's children's services.

In Scotland both council and independent services register with the Care Inspectorate. In Wales they are overseen by Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW), and in Northern Ireland the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) registers independent agencies and inspects both Trust and agency services.

Where the money comes from

A council funds its own fostering service from its children's services budget. When it places a child with an IFA carer it pays the agency a placement fee instead, which must cover the carer's allowance and fee, the agency's social workers and support, and, where the agency is a company, its running costs and any profit. Council-run recruitment hubs say this is why agency placements cost councils more.

Governments in Wales and Scotland have raised concerns that public money can reach shareholders or parent companies rather than children, which is behind the reforms described below.

How children are placed, and why it matters to you

When a child needs a foster home, the responsible council or Trust looks first at its own approved carers. Only if none has the space, skills or location the child needs does it approach IFAs. This is the biggest practical difference between the two routes.

For council carers it usually means shorter gaps between placements and children from your own area, so school, family time and meetings are closer to home. For agency carers it can mean a longer wait for a first or next placement, and children from another council area, sometimes far away, with extra travel. It can also mean a wider pool of referrals, because an agency hears from several councils, and agency carers tend to look after slightly older children.

Neither pattern is better in itself; it depends on how you want fostering to fit around your life.

Allowances and fees

There are two kinds of payment. The allowance covers the cost of caring for a child: food, clothes, travel and pocket money. A fee is an extra payment recognising the carer's time and skills. Every service pays an allowance; none is required to pay a fee, and fees vary widely.

Each nation sets a floor for the allowance (see the nation notes). In England the government publishes a national minimum allowance each year; for 2026 to 2027 it runs from £176 a week for a child under three outside London and the South East to £309 for a 16 or 17 year old in London. In Scotland the recommended allowance is an agreement between government and councils; independent providers set their own allowances and fees.

The body representing IFAs says agency fees tend to be higher, and councils acknowledge this. Compare the whole package: how much is allowance and how much is fee, whether anything is paid between placements, and what changes when a child moves into a new age band. Foster carers register as self-employed and HMRC's Qualifying Care Relief applies; Fosterline gives free advice on tax and benefits.

Support and training

Whichever route you choose, expect a supervising social worker, preparation training before approval, ongoing training, an annual review and out-of-hours contact.

Council carers are typically supported by a council social worker, local training, a local community of carers and direct links to the council's education, health and wellbeing teams. In Northern Ireland, Trust carers have 24-hour social work support, support groups and short breaks. In Wales, Foster Wales offers council carers a National Commitment to consistent training, support and rewards.

Agency support and training vary, so ask. Many IFAs have invested in therapeutic training and extensive ongoing courses. Because agency children often come from further away, training, meetings and family time may be held nearer the child's home area than yours.

The regional fostering hubs in England

If you enquire about council fostering in England you may be answered by a regional hub rather than a single council. The Department for Education funds these through its Fostering Recruitment and Retention Programme, after the 2022 Independent Review of Children's Social Care called for 9,000 more carers. By July 2024 ten hubs covered about 96 of England's 152 councils, such as Foster with us in the North West and Foster for East Midlands.

A hub is a shared front door for the councils in its region. You enquire once, advisers respond and the hub supports you through information events and the early stages before your preferred council carries out your assessment. Hubs recruit for councils only; to compare an agency, approach it separately.

The not-for-profit direction in Wales and Scotland

Wales has gone furthest. Under the Health and Social Care (Wales) Act 2025, no new for-profit fostering service can register from 1 April 2026. From 1 April 2027 existing for-profit agencies cannot approve new carers, and from 1 April 2030 at the latest councils will generally not place children with for-profit providers. The Welsh Government says council and not-for-profit carers will see no change, a child already placed with a for-profit agency carer can stay where that is in their best interests, and carers whose agency closes will need to transfer to a council or not-for-profit service; a transfer protocol recommends the new service pays at least the current allowances and fees for the rest of the placement.

Scotland already requires independent agencies to be voluntary organisations that do not operate for profit. The Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Bill, introduced in June 2025 and passed by MSPs in March 2026, would require them to be registered charities after an 18 to 24 month transition; 16 of Scotland's 25 agencies already were. England has no equivalent rule.

Questions to ask any fostering service

Ask the same questions of every service you meet, and notice how quickly and warmly each responds.

• Which children do you need carers for now, and what kind of carers are you recruiting?
• How are children referred to you, and how long do new carers usually wait for a first placement? For an agency: which councils do you work with?
• Where is my supervising social worker based, how many carers do they support, and how often will they visit?
• What training is offered before and after approval, and where?
• Where do meetings and family time take place, and how far might I travel?
• What support is there out of hours, for my own children, and through support groups or buddy schemes?
• How many of your carers currently have no child placed with them?
• What is the allowance, is there a fee, is anything paid between placements, and what respite is available?
• What did your last inspection report say, and can I speak to some of your carers?

Making your decision

Go to information sessions for at least one council service and one agency, read their latest inspection reports and compare the answers. Choose a service close to home, because you will be attending meetings and taking children to school and family time. Assessment takes months whichever route you take (GOV.UK says up to eight months in England; Citizens Advice Scotland says at least six). You can transfer later, but councils advise against moving while a child is placed with you.

Across the UK

England

Ofsted registers and inspects IFAs and covers council fostering within its inspection of the council's children's services. The 2026 to 2027 national minimum allowance ranges by age from £176 to £267 a week outside London and the South East, £195 to £298 in the South East and £205 to £309 in London. Fosterline: 0800 040 7675.

Scotland

Council and independent services register with the Care Inspectorate. Independent providers must already be not-for-profit, and legislation passed in March 2026 would require them to be registered charities. The Scottish Recommended Allowance for 2026 to 2027 is £177.68 a week for ages 0 to 4, £206.71 for 5 to 15 and £283.35 for 16 and over. Fosterline Scotland: 0141 204 1400.

Wales

Services are overseen by Care Inspectorate Wales. Foster Wales is the national network of 22 council fostering teams. For-profit fostering is being phased out between April 2026 and April 2030. The 2026 to 2027 national minimum allowance is £229 a week for ages 0 to 4, £208 for 5 to 15 and £260 for 16 to 17. Fosterline Wales: 0800 316 7664.

Northern Ireland

Fostering is provided mainly by the HSC Trusts, with some independent agencies; RQIA regulates and inspects both. Of 3,999 looked-after children at 31 March 2024, 84 per cent were in foster care. The Fostering Network lists the 2026 to 2027 allowance as £160 a week for ages 0 to 4, £179 for 5 to 10, £200 for 11 to 15 and £235 for 16 and over.

Common questions