Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to announce the ten pilot areas for the Kinship Care Allowance.

The department recognises the important role that kinship carers play in caring for some of the most vulnerable children, and the role local authorities have in supporting them.

The government has recently announced a £40 million package to trial a new Kinship Allowance in up to ten local authorities, to test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of supporting the child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends.

The department will share further details on the process for selecting local authorities in due course.