Inflationary increase in the interagency fee for 2022/23Inflationary increase in the interagency fee for 2022/23
On 19 January 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers’ housing costs (CPIH) level for January-December 2021, which was 4.8%. This means that, from 1st April 2022 to 31st March 2023, the interagency fee levels for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will increase.
The interagency fee covers the costs borne by LAs, VAAs and RAAs in recruiting and assessing adopters, matching and placing children, and providing supervision and support up to the point of the adoption order.
Please check our webpage on the interagency fee for all the latest updates, including the new figures for each region and guidance on the fee.
Although this increase is substantially more than the 0.8% rise last year, interagency fees continue to provide real value for money, both in comparison with the lifetime costs of other permanency placements and in relation to research which calculated the cost of an adoption placement for a single child as £36,905 in 2014 (Selwyn et al.)
VAAs continue to provide lifelong support to the children and young people they place, adopted adults and their families. This is becoming ever more important as the complexity of children placed by VAAs increases along with the lifetime impact of their early trauma.
Crucially, adoption continues to have very positive outcomes for care experienced children, providing loving, forever families for many children who need them.