Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when the Kinship Allowance Pilot will commence; and when she plans to publish the list of the ten selected local authorities participating in that pilot.

The department announced on 27 February that the Kinship Allowance pilot will be delivered through the new Kinship Zones programme, which will operate in seven local authority areas: Bexley, Bolton, Newcastle, North East Lincolnshire, Medway, Thurrock and Wiltshire.

Delivery of support through the Kinship Zones will begin on 1 April 2026, with local authorities leading engagement with eligible kinship families ahead of the rollout.

The seven participating local authorities were selected following last year’s expression of interest process. The final seven were selected because they provided the strongest conditions for generating robust evidence across a diverse range of local contexts and helping the maximum number of children while remaining within budget constraints.

Details of the participating areas have already been published, and further information about the wider Kinship Zones programme is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-launches-investment-in-support-for-kinship-carers.