Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will provide additional funding to equalise allowances between foster and kinship families.

This government recognises the valuable and important role that kinship carers play and appreciates that they often take on this role at a time in their lives when they are least expecting to raise a family.

Statutory guidance issued to local authorities makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare.

Local authorities have the powers to provide a range of services, including financial support, to support children and families. As local authorities know their carers best, they have the power to decide what financial support should be provided to carers and their children 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. While the government recognises the financial constraints on local authorities, guidance makes it clear that children and young people should receive the support that they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare.

The government is committed to work with local government to support children in care, including through kinship, foster care, and adoption, as well as strengthening regulation of the children’s social care sector.

This government is considering how to most effectively transform the children’s social care system to deliver better outcomes for children and families, including how best to support kinship families.