Local authorities in England and Wales have been invited to be part of a pilot to provide financial support to relatives or friends who step in to raise children when their parents cannot
The Kinship Financial Allowance pilot will provide a weekly non-means tested financial allowance which will be paid at a rate equivalent to the national minimum fostering allowance to support kinship carers with the additional costs incurred when taking on parental responsibility
The pilot was announced in the Autumn 2024 Budget, and will enable up to 10 areas. It is hoped the allowance will encourage more family members or friends to come forward.
“Too many relatives and friends stepping in for children who would otherwise be in the care system with strangers, often at short notice, face financial hardship. Currently most kinship families have to give up work or reduce their hours to take on the care of the children, forcing them into poverty.
said Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive of Family Rights Group.
“(We) are pleased to see the Kinship Financial Allowance pilot is finally progressing, and that Government has recognised that improving financial support for kinship families must be a priority. We encourage local authorities to apply to become one of the 10 pilot areas. Alongside the pilot, all authorities need to be working with families and the sector in designing their new kinship local offer.”
“Nevertheless, we are concerned that some children will fall through the cracks in pilot eligibility. We fear this will disproportionately affect children from Black and minoritised communities who are more likely to be in informal kinship care arrangements. Moreover, in the vast majority of the country, outside of the pilot areas, kinship families will continue to face variable financial support and often unfair practice. For example, some local authority policies and calculations do not adequately account for disability and risk placing disabled kinship carers and disabled children at a particular disadvantage.”
“There is an urgent need, alongside the pilot, to improve financial support across the country and we will continue to press the Government to address that.”
