Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, What steps her Department is taking to ensure that kinship families receive financial support similar to that of (a) foster and (b) adoptive families.

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

As local authorities know their carers best, they have the power to decide what financial support should be provided to kinship carers and any payments should be made in accordance with their model for assessing support needs.

The government does not set a maximum or minimum allowance for local authorities to administer. However, the kinship care statutory guidance, which was published in October 2024, states that, in its calculation of any ongoing special guardianship financial support, the local authority should have regard to the fostering allowance that would have been paid if the child was fostered.

At the Autumn Budget 2024, the department announced £40 million to trial a new kinship allowance in some local authorities in England. The department will test whether paying an allowance to cover the additional costs of caring for a child can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends. ​​ The department will share further details and the process for selecting local authorities in due course.​

This is the single biggest investment made by government in kinship care to date. This investment could transform the lives of vulnerable children who can no longer live at home by allowing children to grow up within their families and communities, reducing disruption to their early years, so they can focus on schooling and building friendships.

The department understands the unique challenges kinship carers face and is committed to providing the necessary support.