Fostering Services
Independent fostering agency contracts and in-house foster carer recruitment. 147 UK councils have discussed fostering services in monitored meetings — track who, where and how the conversation is moving.
What councils are saying about fostering services
Fostering Services is one of the procurement themes QuorumInsight tracks across UK local government, detected in 678 meeting mentions spanning 147 councils. Every mention comes from an analysed council meeting — a cabinet decision, a committee discussion or a budget report — so this is a picture of what councils are actually planning and debating, not a directory of published tenders.
Discussion has been rising quarter-on-quarter: there were 111 mentions in the last three months, against 72 in the three months before. For suppliers, that matters because activity in a council meeting typically precedes any formal procurement by months. Reading it early is the difference between shaping a requirement and responding to one. Fostering Services sits within the broader children’s social care category.
Mentions over the last 12 months
Monthly fostering services mentions across all monitored UK councils, by meeting date. The current month is excluded while it is still in progress.
Most active councils
Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council in North West is the most active authority on fostering services, with 49 mentions across 49 monitored meetings — around 7% of all fostering services discussion QuorumInsight has tracked. The council returned to the subject as recently as its “Foster Care Focus” meeting on 28 Oct 2025.
Devon County Council (41 mentions) and Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council (19) are also notably active. The full list of leading councils is below — each links to its live intelligence profile.
| Council | Region | Mentions |
|---|---|---|
| Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council | North West | 49 |
| Devon County Council | South West | 41 |
| Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council | Wales | 19 |
| Medway Council | South East | 18 |
| Central Bedfordshire Council | East of England | 17 |
| Leeds City Council | Yorkshire and the Humber | 17 |
| Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council | North East | 16 |
| Wakefield Metropolitan District Council | Yorkshire and the Humber | 14 |
| Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council | West Midlands | 14 |
| Flintshire County Council | Wales | 13 |
| Dumfries and Galloway Council | Scotland | 12 |
| Somerset Council | South West | 11 |
In councils’ own words
Recent meetings where fostering services came up, with the relevant passage from the discussion. Each meeting links to the council’s intelligence profile.
Central Bedfordshire Council · School Places & Youth Services · 2 Oct 2026
“strengthen recruitment, retention of foster carers”
Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council · Services, Assets and Investment · 1 Oct 2026
“strengthen in foster care recruitment and assessment with the aim of increasing the number of local foster carers”
North Ayrshire Council · Health and Care Pressures · 1 Oct 2026
“we've invested heavily in advertising, recruitment, support and retention”
Medway Council · SEND & Care Reform Plans · 1 Oct 2026
“working with local independent fostering agencies to support keeping our children local”
South Gloucestershire Council · Parking and Service Pressures · 30 Sept 2026
“very positive in terms of recruitment and retention, including many new fostering approvals and further households currently being assessed”
Glasgow City Council · Service Pressures and Investment · 30 Sept 2026
“we have very recently increased our foster care fees because there is a national crisis in terms of foster care recruitment”
Related topics in children’s social care
- Children’s Mental Health Commissioning · 190 councils
- Children’s Residential Care · 190 councils
- Leaving Care & Semi-Independent · 104 councils
- Therapeutic Services for Children · 76 councils
Track fostering services across every council
Set an alert on fostering services and get notified whenever a monitored council discusses it — with the meeting, the context and the quote.