DEVON County Council has welcomed the Government’s announcement to recruit 10,000 new foster carers by 2029.

The plans, backed with £88 million over the next two years, are part of a government drive to provide more loving homes to vulnerable children while improving support for foster carers and tackling the shortage of carers.

Declining numbers of fostering households is a national issue, and in Devon the number of approved fostering households has fallen by a third since 2020.

The authority says it has committed a £2million investment to the fostering service at the end of last year to provide additional support to foster carers in recognition of the vital role they play.

This is funding a range of measures including improved financial support with enhanced payments and allowances, improved training and development, access to specialist advice and wellbeing services, and an annual council tax relief scheme.

The “Renewing Fostering” report presented to parliament by the Minister for Children and Families Josh MacAlister OBE, sets out the commitment to grow the number of local authority and third sector foster places by 10,000 by 2029.

This would enable thousands more children to grow up close to their extended family, friends, school, and wider community.

The report also states it will “reduce reliance on expensive for-profit provision in foster care and residential care, creating savings which can be reinvested in supporting children”.

Councillor Richard Jefferies, Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care, said: ‘I’m pleased to see Government raising the profile of this issue nationally. The promise of additional funding to support foster carers is very welcome and it follows on from our own £2 million investment last year.

‘Fostering is so important in changing lives of vulnerable young people. It often provides the best home environment for children who can’t be with their families, and we want to make sure foster carers are supported in this vital role.’

Councillor Robin Julian was appointed as Member Champion for Fostering in November, to ensure fostering remains a priority for the County Council.

He said: ‘Fostering can make a huge difference in the lives of young people and we want vulnerable children to be with families.

‘Foster carers are doing such a vital job we need to make sure they feel valued for what they’re doing and that they are rewarded for what they do.

‘Devon’s Fostering Service has been working closely with our foster carers and children’s services to raise the profile of fostering and improve support to our current carers.

‘There’s still more we can do to make things run smoothly for foster carers and we’re talking to them so that we can make this a success for the county.’

Government figures in the report highlight that as of March 2025, there were 81,770 children in care. Around two thirds of all children in care – 54,820 – were living in foster homes, supported by 42,190 fostering households. The number of approved mainstream foster carers declined by 12per cent between 2019 and 2025, and stood at 56,345 last year.

Hearts and Homes: A Fostering Devon Conference will be held at The Future Skills Centre in Exeter on 20 March. Find out more at https://www.fosteringdevon.org.uk/events/hearts-and-homes-conference-2026/

If you’re aged over 21 and have a spare bedroom and want to support a child to have improved life chances you can find out more about becoming a foster carer at https://www.fosteringdevon.org.uk/