Medway’s fostering service is projected to overspend its in-house placement budget by around £290,000 in 2026/27, according to an annual report considered by Cabinet on 25 August 2026.

Medway Cabinet considered the Annual Fostering Report 2025–2026 at its meeting on 25 August 2026, receiving an overview of performance, recruitment activity and the financial pressures facing the service.

Budget pressure

The report disclosed that at the time of writing there were 83 active in-house foster placements at an average cost of £603 per week, compared with a budget based on 93 placements at an average of £560 per week. The 2026/27 round one monitoring forecast predicted an overspend of approximately £290,000 on the in-house fostering placement budget by the end of the financial year. Officers noted that failure to secure sufficient in-house placements increases reliance on independent fostering agencies and other external provision, creating additional pressure on an already overspent Children’s Services placement budget.

Recruitment and capacity

The report recorded that 212 enquiries were received during 2025–26 and 14 new fostering households were approved. As of 31 March 2026, Medway had 81 approved fostering households supporting 128 children and young people. Officers described placement sufficiency as stabilising but said local and national challenges continued to affect availability, particularly for older children, sibling groups and children with complex needs.

Kinship care growth

The report highlighted significant growth in kinship activity, with 112 viability assessments completed during the year and approximately 206 Special Guardianship families — relating to 286 children — receiving support from the service. The report noted that Medway had been selected as one of seven local authorities nationally to participate in a Department for Education Kinship Allowance Pilot, which officers described as a significant opportunity to improve outcomes and support for kinship carers.

Private fostering

During 2025–26 the service received 30 notifications of potential private fostering arrangements and maintained 100% compliance with statutory visiting requirements. The report stated that no disqualifications, prohibitions or safeguarding failures were identified in relation to those private fostering arrangements during the reporting period.

The report had previously been considered by the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 12 August 2026. The council had not published the minutes of the Cabinet meeting at the time of writing, so the committee’s decision is not yet on the public record.

Sources

Top image: illustrative, computer-generated. It is not a photograph of a Medway foster home, or of any household connected to the report.