Kinship responds to announcement of kinship allowance trial in Budget
27 October 2024
Today, the UK Government has announced that the forthcoming Budget on Wednesday 30 October will include £44 million funding to support kinship and foster carers in England.
This will include “trialling a new kinship allowance in up to 10 local authorities to test whether paying an allowance to cover certain costs – like supporting a child to settle into a new home with relatives – can help increase the number of children taken in by family members and friends”.
Responding to the announcement, Chief Executive at Kinship, Dr Lucy Peake, said:
"We are pleased that the Government has made a commitment to trialling a new kinship allowance so that more children can be raised in well-supported kinship care with family and friends who love them, delivering better outcomes for children and for the public purse than the care system. We look forward to further reforms to children’s social care which should ensure that all kinship families get the financial, practical and emotional support they need and deserve."
Dr Lucy Peake, Chief Executive at Kinship
Please note that we do not have any further details at this point on the kinship allowance trial, including which type of kinship carers will be eligible, which local authorities are involved, or how the allowance will be delivered. We look forward to seeing further details in the Budget and will share and respond to these as soon as they are known.
Today’s announcement follows a commitment made by the previous Government in the National Kinship Care Strategy last year to deliver a financial allowances pathfinder in up to 8 local authorities. You can learn more about the current status of financial allowances for kinship carers, our verdict, and what we want to see happen next at our kinship care policy tracker.