Bridgend Council’s Cabinet is set to approve a one-off payment of £500 to the county’s foster and adult placement carers (pdf).
The payment – similar to that offered by the Welsh Government to care workers – is a “thank you” for the work they’ve done during the Covid-19 pandemic.
With children in foster care and adults in residential care often being unable to see their families in person during lockdowns, carers have been under more pressure than usual.
“During this time, our foster carers and supported lodgings hosts demonstrated high levels of resilience, offering the highest standards of care to the children who they were looking after, many of whom displayed challenging behaviours linked to their experiences of trauma.”
– Claire Merchant, BCBC Corporate Director for Social Services & Wellbeing
Despite this, foster carers and adult placement carers weren’t included as part of the Welsh Government bonus scheme.
To date, seven Welsh local authorities have made bonus payments to foster and adult placement carers, while some independent foster agencies have done so too. As there’s a shortage of foster carers in Bridgend, the council believe it’s important to demonstrate gratitude for their work.
In total, it’ll cost £82,000. The money will come from a Welsh Government social care recovery grant.
Not wanting to be the cloud here, but the report doesn’t mention the possible tax implications. Some foster carers are counted as employees. Previous bonus payments for care workers have been taxed for income tax and national insurance and bonuses have also reportedly affected claims for universal credit (as per HMRC and UK Government rules).
