A union representing foster carers has warned of ‘damaging’ consequences for vulnerable children unless Falkirk Council raise fees and reverses cuts to their holiday allowance.
The IWGB Foster Care Workers Union raised its demands over a year ago with a petition it says was signed by the majority of Falkirk Council’s foster carers.
But the union now says that while several councillors pledged their support at an open meeting in September 2023, since then “nothing has changed” and it has criticised the council’s failure to act.
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A year on, the union – which is not officially recognised by Falkirk Council – met with councillors to put their case once again.
The union claims that Falkirk Council’s decision to cut foster carers’ holiday allowance by 14 days, and to impose a freeze on their fees, has led to an increasing number of foster carers leaving.
Michael Lesko, a Falkirk Foster Carer added: “Without enough time to rest, carers burn out and are forced to step down from the highly demanding roles they perform. The repercussions for vulnerable children can be seriously damaging.
“Falkirk Council needs to recognise the threat to local children’s futures, give carers back their holiday, and open their doors to dialogue moving forward.
“We left our initial meeting with councillors feeling hopeful, as those who attended all stated that they did not realise the depth of feeling amongst carers and offered their support.
“Since that meeting, trying to get through to the council has felt like hitting a brick wall. Having refused to recognise our union, the council claims it has been engaging with carers through other routes – yet a year on we still haven’t seen any concrete results.”
Freedom of Information requests by the union have revealed that private placements are costing Falkirk Council around 75 per cent more per placement.
Kenny Millard, chair of the IWGB Foster Care Workers Union said that union members who attended the most recent meeting were satisfied that their concerns had been listened to by the councillors who attended.
One of those attending was Councillor Laura Murtagh, who said: “We recognise the very real concerns that foster carers have and its important that we listen to them.
“I was happy to meet with them and we have requested some follow up information to find out more about their concerns.”
Councillor Siobhan Paterson, who also attended the meeting, said: “As a council, we recognise and value the work our foster carers do but I recognise that there are improvements to be made and we’re taking action to improve the working environment for our carers.”
A spokesperson for Falkirk Council said: “Our priority will always be to the children and young people in our care.
“We actively encourage foster carers to discuss their support needs with their supervising social worker; we aim to be flexible in our approach as we value our carers.
“We do have regular engagement with the wider fostering community to understand their differing views around the holiday allowance process with a report on this due later this month following a questionnaire of all foster carers.”
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