Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her Department has given to including Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council in the cohort for the pilot on the kinship allowance trial scheme.

The government announced a £40 million package to trial a new kinship allowance. The pilot will begin in autumn 2025 and the department will evaluate the pilot to build an evidence base on how best to deliver financial support for kinship families. We will confirm the process for selecting local authorities taking part in the pilot in due course.