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it varies from authority to authority but there is a recommnedned national minimum of (at the moment) £125.09 a week for that age group (at least thats what my authority pays per baby and they apparantly use the guidelines). not all authorities pay the full recommended amount, i think a majority do and a fair few pay below it. agency foster carers get a lot more than LA carers. being a concureent carer sholdn't make any difference I would have thought, kinship carers (here anyway) get the same as LA carers and I guess concurrent is kind of like kinship caring in the long run.

thanks loadsofbubs thats really helpfull.eph

Does very much depend where you sre I get £145.00 for this age plus an an itial clothing grant of £250.00 if baby comes with nothing, two weeks extra allowance for summer hols and half weeks extra for Christmas and birthdays but think our LA is quite generous

that IS generous!! I'd be interested to know which LA (though realise this is identifying info so don't really expect an answer!!), ours seems to think it is very generous! we get an annual loyalty bonus of £100 and holiday allowance for one extra weeks allowance for children who stay longer term (ie several months rather than a few weeks). generally it works out as one lot of holiday allowance a year for me as I tend to do one main baby and several for respite). we can get money back for big items like new buggies/cots etc (plus a setting up allowance when we start), but the LA have a set amount they'll pay so you can get something better and pay the difference, but they wouldn't pay you the difference if it was cheaper! but clothes we have to provide even when they come with nothing. but if I move a child on with say all the bottles I can claim to pay for some new ones for the next baby.we also have a system where experience (and some written evidence of this), going on training etc means we can get extra money as a 'salary' element, starts at about £25 a week, and rises to £55 and then £85 over time, if you put in the training and maintain it. and then additional allowances for taking on teenagers and 'task' elements for children with disabilities that need additional care.

Hi all,I am with an LA and we get over £200 a week plus initial clothing allowance and Christmas, birthday and holiday payments.I really think there should be a national minimum paymment enforced nationwide by the government. i am sure that fostering must cost some of you more than your payment.I feel a little embarrased that our LA is so generous. We still have the problem of no retainers between placements which has caused a lot of problems for of our carers.Hilly7

Seems mad that the amount varies so much across the country! No matter how much training we do there is no 'wage' allowance however as a one off a 'skills' payment of £500 can be made under certain circumstances.Think the main bugbear for most of us is the lack of a retainer between placements as LA's dont like you to work as well but dont seem to realise living expenses dont go down that much when without a placement