The Department for Education (DfE) has committed £126 million to fund a pilot financial allowance for kinship carers across seven designated local authority areas in England. The department hopes the scheme will reach around 5,000 children over a programme lasting up to three and a half years.
An estimated 130,000 children currently live in kinship care in England, according to the charity Kinship. Kinship carers are often grandparents, aunts, uncles or family friends, with many children placed in their care through a special guardianship order (SGO) or a child arrangements order (CAO). Unlike foster carers, kinship carers holding SGOs or CAOs have no entitlement to a nationally regulated financial allowance, with provision depending on each local authority’s discretionary policy and resulting in wide variations across England.
Seven ‘kinship zones’ have been announced, in which carers will receive a financial allowance backed by the fund: Bexley, Bolton, Newcastle, North East Lincolnshire, Medway, Thurrock and Wiltshire. The areas were chosen following a selection process last June and offer what the DfE describes as “a useful mix of geography, demographics, and service models”.
“This was intentional,” the DfE added. “The pilot is designed to test what works at scale in varied local contexts, so robust learning can be generated for future decisions.”
Described as the largest investment in kinship care of its kind by the DfE, the central funding provided to the kinship zones will see eligible carers paid a weekly sum equivalent to the amount currently received by foster carers, which varies according to the area and the age of the child.
To qualify, a carer must hold an SGO or a CAO specifying the child lives with them, and the child must otherwise have entered local authority care if they did not live with the carer. The allowance tracks the NMA, adjusted for the child’s age and the carer’s region. Funding saved by participating councils as a result of central government support will be redirected to other local family network services. Outcomes will be independently evaluated by the children’s care organisation Foundations, in partnership with consultancy Alma Economics. The DfE has committed to publishing evaluation findings throughout the programme.
Commenting on the announcement Lucy Peake, chief executive of Kinship, said:
“Today’s announcement is an important first step towards ensuring kinship families have the financial support they need to provide children with stable, loving homes. A guaranteed allowance equal to the foster care allowance will be life‑changing for kinship carers in the local authority areas where this is being piloted, many of whom struggle to afford the basics for the children they have unexpectedly stepped in to raise.
“Kinship carers hold our care system together, and they deserve the right support to continue doing so”
Cathy Ashley is the chief executive of the Family Rights Group, a national charity which works to ensure the child welfare system supports children to live safely and strengthens the family and community networks of children who can’t live at home. Although the charity welcomes the pilot, Ashley says it will only benefit around 3% of the children in kinship care.
“Across the country, many kinship families continue to experience inconsistent financial support and, at times, unfair practice,” she said.
“For example, some local authority policies and financial assessments do not adequately account for disability, placing disabled kinship carers and disabled children at particular disadvantage. This is an issue that national and local government need to address now.
“As each authority develops its kinship local offer, this is a key opportunity to involve kinship families directly in reviewing and improving how they financially support their kinship community.
“We urge national and local government to build the fair, effective support system that children and families need.”
Josh MacAlister, minister for children and families, said:
“As a country we owe kinship carers our thanks and our support, and the new financial allowance which we’re trialling as part of our plan for change recognises the vital role they play ensuring families can stay together.”
