Foster a child to keep your benefit Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, yesterday said it was "not right" for the council to use an exemption to suggest that people should become foster families. David Millican, the leader of the Ealing Conservatives, accused the council of offering "financial incentives" to people taking on children. "It is incompetence by the council and is completely insensitive," he said. You're not allowed by law to take children to make money out of it. A spokesman for Ealing council said: "We want as many people as possible to consider fostering and recognise welfare benefit changes may have appeared to be a barrier to some families who could become potential foster parents. Until recently, foster families were not exempt from the changes regarding spare bedrooms so we produced a leaflet to explain the position.