Kinship carers struggling to cope despite £4.3 billion value to society

• One in 8 kinship carers, raising the child of a relative or friend, might have to give up caring for a child they love, often due to a lack of financial support.
• Kinship carers contribute £4.3 billion a year to the economy by raising children, many of whom would otherwise be in the care system – however, most are left unsupported.
• Unlike foster carers, most kinship carers do not receive financial support from the government – leaving them twice as likely as other adults to rely on food banks and four times as likely to fall behind on their bills.
• More than 50 kinship carers are marching in Westminster towards the Treasury, pushing empty shopping trolleys to the government’s door, symbolising the unmet needs of kinship carers who cannot ‘pay with love’.

Kinship has revealed that kinship carers in England are contributing more than £4.3 billion a year to the economy by caring for children, many of whom would otherwise be in the care system – however, most don’t get the vital support they need to cover the cost of raising them. As a result, 1 in 8 kinship carers might need to make the heart-wrenching decision to give up caring for a loved child. 

New research, in partnership with the Centre for Care, based at the University of Sheffield, together with the University of Manchester, has uncovered the value of kinship carers to the economy – revealing that they are contributing a significant £4.3 billion to the economy, which is what it would cost the state if all the children in kinship care were in foster care. There are over 132,000 children being looked after by kinship carers in England today – these are family members and friends who have stepped up in crisis to raise children when their parents can no longer care for them. However, the government is failing these families who are struggling to get by without enough financial support.  

When someone fosters a child in England, they receive financial support to help meet the costs of raising someone else’s child. Unlike foster carers, kinship carers – who often step up to care for a child at a time of crisis – do not routinely receive any funding from the government, plunging many loving families into a life of poverty. If a child is unable to be looked after by their parents, kinship care provides the love and stability they need to thrive. Evidence shows that children in kinship care have better outcomes than children in the care system. And yet, for stepping up to care for these children, kinship carers are effectively penalised – being twice as likely as other adults to rely on food banks and four times as likely to fall behind on their bills as a result.  

More than 50 kinship carers are staging a march in Westminster towards the Treasury, pushing empty shopping trolleys to symbolise the unmet needs of kinship carers who cannot ‘pay with love’. The march will end with a giant “shopping list” of the essential things that the average kinship family has to find a way to pay for each month (food, uniform, clothing, heating bills). This is being delivered to the Treasury, representing the government’s debt to kinship carers. 

Kinship is calling for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to step up to support the thousands of kinship carers in England who themselves are stepping up to raise children, many of who would otherwise be in the care system, providing them with a loving, safe and stable home. Kinship is calling on her to bring much-needed funding to the table for kinship carers in England as part of the government’s Spending Review concluding in June this year. The government has committed to trialling a new kinship allowance in up to ten local authorities, but Kinship wants to see these plans accelerated and a commitment made to guarantee financial allowances for all kinship families across the country. 

Commenting on the findings, Kinship CEO Lucy Peake said:

“Kinship carers contribute billions to the economy, and yet most are left unsupported by the government. It’s time for the Treasury to take notice of the commitment and collective sacrifices kinship carers make to raise children against all odds, so that they can keep them in a family home and out of the care system. They must deliver the urgent support needed by choosing to invest in kinship care as part of the forthcoming Spending Review to guarantee a financial allowance for every kinship family in England.

“When a kinship carer steps up to raise a family or friend’s child, they do it with love. But love alone doesn’t pay the bills; it is not enough to pay for the extra costs they need to cover – the things every child needs while growing up: food, clothes and school uniform. It is a disgrace that kinship carers are plunged into poverty; when other carers such as foster carers receive financial support, kinship carers are lying awake at night worrying about finding money to feed children they didn’t know they would be raising.

“We need the government to stop dragging its heels and to recognise that kinship carers are struggling to make ends meet, risking thousands of children entering the already over-stretched care system. There’s an urgency here and the consequences of inaction are both heartbreaking for children and families and costly to the state. Every day that passes, thousands of kinship carers continue to struggle to stay afloat. We need to stop these children from falling out of loving homes and into the care system by introducing long-overdue financial support to kinship families. The love these families show for these children is endless, but there is only so far that love alone can go. Kinship families cannot wait any longer. It’s time for the government to support these families so that they can stay together and thrive, not just survive.”

Professor Nathan Hughes, Deputy Director of the Centre for Care, University of Sheffield said:

“Our research shows that kinship carers are an essential pillar of children’s social care in England, providing a loving home for over 132,000 children—more than twice as many as children in foster care. Yet their contribution has been previously invisible and overlooked. Through our analysis of the Census and Department for Education data, we are able to place an economic value on it: kinship care is worth an estimated £4.3 billion a year, equivalent to nearly 40% of the entire children’s services budget. Without kinship carers, the system simply couldn’t cope—financially or practically—and yet many say they are close to breaking point.

“As the government makes decisions for the next Spending Review, the message is clear: supporting kinship carers isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a necessity.”

Carmen, a kinship carer in her 50s, lives in a council house in south-west London with her 13-year-old grandson, who she has raised since he was a baby after his parents were unable to care for him. When she took on the care of him, she was forced out of work and has struggled financially ever since.

She says, “I have never had a penny of financial support to help me raise my grandson. It’s a postcode lottery, and neither the London borough I live in, nor the one that my grandson lived in before he came under my care have helped me. If I was a foster carer I would get a financial allowance that would ensure he has everything he needs.

“As it is, I go without so that he can eat. For me, it’s often a case of do I eat? Or do I feed him and pay the bills? I have had to give up my home to find somewhere even smaller. I have been in debt. We don’t put the heating on – we just come home and get under the duvets. I love him so much – he’s so funny and smart – and I would do anything for him. But love doesn’t pay the bills.”

To support the call for the government to urgently provide financial support to all kinship carers ahead of the spending review, join Kinship’s Value Our Love campaign.