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This story published October 30, 2001

Foster parents to get more paid

Pay may rise in Bradford to attract more foster parents in a bid to slash over £4.5million deficit from Bradford Council's Social Services budget.

Drastic actions are being considered by the Executive Committee to reduce a huge predicted overspend.

In recent years, Bradford has cut the number of children's home and has no facilities for the specialised care that some children need.

Therefore most of £4.5 million deficits is caused by the huge cost of placing children in care in homes or high security units outside the district.

The proposed measures to cut costs include:

  • Reviewing foster parents' pay and trying to encourage more people to come forward. This would reduce the costs of placing youngsters outside the district.

  • Looking at the Council's existing system of charging people for social services.

  • Improving the system for getting place for children outside the district.

  • Making more use of accommodation such as lodgings for young people, who would get support from Social Services.

    Others proposals also included changes in elderly people in care.

    Social Services director Liam Hughes says these measures are expected to slash £2.5 million off the overspend.

    According to Mr Hughes his department's budget has been pressured by an increase of young people in care from 277 to 429 in the last three years.

    There are worries about child neglect and recent admissions to care have involved large family groups of children under 11.

    Meanwhile a political row has erupted over the Social Service's £4.5millions deficit.

    Labour blame the Tories and Liberal Democrats of having been "fiddling while Social Service burns".

    The opposition groups say social services department across the country are overspent and are lobbying the Government about the problems.

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