Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of introducing a statutory right to paid leave for kinship carers.

The Government’s Parental Leave and Pay Review will conclude in early 2027 with a set of findings which outline next steps for implementing any reforms.

In addition to considering, all current and upcoming parental leave and pay entitlements, the Review is considering the needs of other working families who do not qualify for existing leave and pay entitlements, such as kinship carers.

The Government is also supporting kinship carers through other mechanisms and has recently launched a kinship pilot to support up to 5,000 kinship families by paying eligible carers an allowance equivalent to the Fostering National Minimum Allowance.