Stephen Morgan MP has welcomed the Government’s new Fostering Action Plan to expand fostering, strengthen support for carers and ensure more children can grow up in loving family homes.
The strategy sets a clear ambition to create homes for 10,000 more children to grow up in foster families, backed by £88 million. Measures include a national recruitment campaign, stronger regional fostering hubs, new digital tools to support applicants, and funding to help experienced foster carers create home extensions.
Commenting, Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“Foster families are crucial to ensuring every child has a stable, loving home that provides them with the opportunity to succeed.
“I pay tribute to Portsmouth’s carers, who are doing extraordinary work, often in very challenging circumstances.
“Labour’s Fostering Action Plan will renew fostering by recruiting and retaining more carers, cutting bureaucracy, and backing carers with the practical and emotional support they deserve.
“This plan will also ensure children can grow up close to home, near their schools, friends and communities”.
The strategy includes:
- A national fostering recruitment and awareness campaign.
- Up to £25m to help experienced carers adapt or expand their homes – increasing capacity, including for siblings.
- £12.8m to expand Regional Fostering Hubs into an end‑to‑end model, from initial enquiry to approval to ongoing support.
- A national innovation programme (at least £12.4m) to test and scale new fostering models, including step‑down from residential care.
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- Stronger training and peer support for carers, including continued Mockingbird rollout (including £8.9m in 2026–27).
- Fairer handling of allegations, with an expectation that carers continue to receive financial support during investigations.
- A simpler rulebook and an ‘opt‑out’ approach to delegated authority so carers can make everyday decisions more easily.
Anyone interested in fostering can find out more via Foster Portsmouth here.
