England

> Interagency Fees
> Medical Fees
> Agency Registration and Annual Fees
> Foster Care Allowances
> Adoption Allowances
> Statutory adoption pay and paternity pay

Interagency fees

These are fees that agencies are recommended to charge for inter-agency placements.

Download:Inter-agency Fees 2007-2008 (pdf)

Fees in previous years
Inter-agency Fees 2006-2007 (pdf)
Inter-agency Fees 2005-2006 (pdf)
Inter-agency Fees 2004-2005 (pdf)

Also see:
Form H1 and H2 (1996)
Inter-agency placement agreement form.

To read pdfs you will need Acrobat Reader (download free from Adobe).

Medical fees

From August 2006, there was a change in the system for determining fees for sessional work, and work under the collaborative arrangements. See information concerning the BMA recommended fees for adoption and fostering, including all BAAF health assessment forms in this pdf.

At June 2008 this is information is still current and up-to-date. Although we have expressed our dissatisfaction at this change, there is unfortunately little we can do, as this is part of a much larger issue regarding GP contracts.   Local negotiations must therefore continue.

For information on the VAT ruling for medical services, implemented in May 2007, please see the BMA website

Also see:

> BAAF's medical and social report forms
> Practice Note 47

Agency Registration and Annual Fees

Details of the registration, variation and annual fees payable to the Commission for Social Care Inspection by children's homes, fostering agencies and local authority fostering services under the Care Standards Act 2000 are set out in the Commission for Social Care Inspection (Fees and Frequency of Inspections) Regulations 2004 (Statutory Instrument 2004 No. 662):
http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk

A list of fees to be paid on application for registration is also provided on the CSCI website:
http://www.csci.gov.uk/

Foster care allowances

Currently foster carers are entitled to allowances to cover the cost of caring for children in their home plus extra allowances to cover special events such as birthdays. These allowances will be based on the needs of the child although the Fostering Network publishes recommended minimum allowances http://www.fostering.net for the UK.

The Children Act 2004 contained a measure to introduce a national system of Fostering Allowances in England & Wales, and the DfES consulted on setting the rate for these allowances.  The National Minimum Fostering Allowances for England in 2007-08 were published In July 2006.

From April 2007, these represent the minimum weekly allowances any foster carer in England should receive to cover the costs of fostering the child or young person in their care. These have been set to reflect age differences, and with higher rates for the South East of England and London.

At the present time there is an expectation that all service providers will comply with these rates. However, The Children Act 2004 does give government the powers to enforce these rates, and the situation will be reviewed in 2007.
Good practice guidance on the National Minimum Fostering Allowance and Fostering Payment Systems was also published in July 2006 and sets out the key principles for providing effective payment systems.

The requirements for making payments to foster carers in England are set out in the National Minimum Standards for Fostering Services http://www.dh.gov.uk (pdf) and the Fostering Services Regulations 2002 (Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 57)
http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk
made under the Care Standards Act 2000

Adoption allowances

Adoption allowances may be paid under certain circumstances where it is considered that an adoption would not otherwise be possible or practical. An allowance might be paid to help adopters cope with the costs involved for caring for a group of siblings or a child with special needs.

The circumstances in which financial support may be paid to adopters in England and the amounts of financial support payable are set out in the Adoption Support Services Regulations 2005 (Statutory Instrument 2005 No. 691) on this external web link.

The accompanying Adoption Support Services Guidance (in a pdf) on the website www.everychildmatters.gov.uk  examines the issue of financial support in detail.

Further resources including the responses to consultation on the new regulations and a Local Authority Circular can be found at http://www.dfes.gov.uk

The new regulations on Adoption Support Services amend the Adoption Allowance Regulations 1991 (Statutory Instrument 1991 No. 2030) http://www.hmso.gov.uk

Statutory Adoption Pay and Paternity Pay

New rights to statutory adoption pay and leave and statutory paternity pay and leave came into force on 6th April 2003. They apply to couples or single people adopting a child within the UK.

These rights to statutory adoption pay and statutory paternity pay are provided for in the Employment Act 2002, are set out in

• The Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (General) Regulations 2002 (Statutory Instrument 2002 No. 2822)
• Terms and Conditions of Employment The Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (General) and the Statutory Paternity Pay and Statutory Adoption Pay (Weekly Rates) (Amendment) Regulations 2006 (Statutory Instrument 2006 No. 2236)

If your average weekly earnings are £90 or more (before tax), Statutory Adoption Pay is paid for a maximum of 39 weeks at £117.18 or 90 per cent of your average weekly earnings if this is less.

If your average weekly earnings are £90 or more (before tax), Statutory Paternity Pay is paid for a maximum of 2 weeks at £117.18 or 90% of average weekly earnings if this is less.

Detailed guidance on the he entitlements to leave and pay for people adopting a child within the UK can be found in the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform website and on the DirectGov website

Direct.gov.uk also have personalised guide to adoption and paternity leave and pay entitlements