North Devon foster carers could be exempt from council tax

North Devon Council looks to help its 36 foster families

Foster carers could be exempt from paying council tax in the future, if North Devon Council gets its way.

It wants to follow the lead of some other councils and give 100 per cent council tax relief to foster care households of which there are 36 in North Devon registered with the local authority (Devon County Council) at the present time.

North Devon says it will be subject to a consultation with the public and others who receive part of the council tax such as the police, fire brigade and county council and the earliest the change could take effect would be in 2027/28.

In the meantime it will discuss a whole county approach with a partnership of local authorities called Team Devon and see if Parkwood Leisure, which runs its leisure facilities, would be willing to offer free leisure passes to foster families.

The council already runs a council tax reduction scheme but foster families are not currently included in the eligibility list.

Cllr Pru Maskell (Con, Braunton West and Georgeham), who brought the motion to full council in November, said foster carers were “ simply amazing and selfless people”.

The councillor has served on the fostering panel at Devon County Council for four years and also interviewed carers about what would improve their lives. The cost of council tax was a subject  regularly raised as they were not highly paid.

She added:: “As panel members, we are party to confidential information about the families and the children which they care for. Some of their stories are harrowing. Children who have been abused and neglected by their birth parents, children who have been given up because of their disabilities, unaccompanied children seeking asylum and children who have been trafficked to this country to be used in the sex trade. It is all harrowing to hear.

“Foster carers sacrifice their own family time to drive their foster children to schools, to contact time and to other appointments. They also go over and above to ensure that these children do not miss out on activities and things that our children may take for granted.”

She said the alternative to foster care was placing children in residential settings, often outside of the county, at huge expense.

Members of NDC’s strategy and resources committee backed a council tax discount scheme for foster carers in principle and free leisure passes which they said would be “a nice gesture”.