PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
(6 December 2024)

The government is determined to give every child the opportunities they deserve, and kinship carers play a crucial role in delivering this.

In November 2024, the government published ‘Keeping Children Safe, Helping Families Thrive’, which is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/67375fe5ed0fc07b53499a42/Keeping_Children_Safe__Helping_Families_Thrive_.pdf. This statement set out the government's intention to rebalance the children’s social care system and improve outcomes for children in care, care leavers and families. This publication includes the key principle of supporting children to live with kinship carers when it is in their best interest.

The department 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.

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 and allowing them to focus on schooling and building friendships.