Government launches pilot to pay kinship carers in seven areas of England
The department said around 5,000 vulnerable children and their families could be helped by the pilot
Grandparents, aunts, uncles and family friends who step in to provide kinship care for children are to be paid under a new Government pilot.
Currently some councils already pay kinship carers but the Department for Education said it was now launching the largest investment in support for such carers nationally.
The pilot, which will run for up to three and a half years, will begin in seven areas of the country known as Kinship Zones.
They are Bexley in Greater London, Bolton in the North West, Newcastle in the North East, North East Lincolnshire in the East Midlands, Medway in the South East, Thurrock in the East of England and Wiltshire in the South West.
The department said around 5,000 vulnerable children and their families could be helped by the pilot, with £126 million being invested.
But national kinship care charity Kinship said the pilot will cover only a small fraction of children in kinship care across England and cautioned that while it is an important first step, more is needed.
Children and families minister Josh MacAlister said: "As a country we owe kinship carers our thanks and our support, and the new financial allowance which we're trialling as part of our plan for change recognises the vital role they play ensuring families can stay together.
"We promised to introduce this scheme to support kinship carers who step up for the children they love and give every child the best possible start in life.
"These Kinship Zones will lead the way in showing the impact for children when we unlock the power of grandparents, aunts, uncles and other relatives who could care for their kin in the place of the care system."
Dr Jo Casebourne, chief executive of the Government-funded Foundations, which works to help vulnerable children, said her organisation is "pleased to undertake the evaluation of the kinship financial allowances pilot announced today, to help to build the evidence base and shape future support for kinship carers and the children they care for".
Jahnine Davis, who is the national kinship care ambassador, said the pilot is a "milestone" for kinship carers and the children they care for, which means "for the first time, we have a government-led initiative that will not only examine how best to provide financial support for kinship families but will also encourage local authorities to look holistically at the support they offer and adopt a genuine 'think family' approach".
Kinship chief executive Lucy Peake said: "While it's welcome that this support is being piloted in a small number of local authorities to build the evidence for further roll-out, the pace of change remains far too slow, with the pilot reaching only around 4% of children in kinship care in England.
"Most families will see no change, continuing to face a postcode lottery of poor and inconsistent support. While the pilot is positive for those included, it risks paralysing progress elsewhere."
She said local authorities should not wait until the end of the pilot, but instead "follow the lead of the small number of areas already seeing the benefits of equal allowances to families and their budgets".
The charity said that for every 100 children looked after in well-supported kinship care rather than local authority care, the state saves £4 million per year and increases the lifetime earnings of those children by £2 million.
Munira Wilson, the Liberal Democrats' spokesperson on education, children and young people, said: "Kinship carers are heroes who often step up overnight to look after vulnerable children.
"They have been neglected and left with little to no support for too long.
"While this pilot is a welcome step in the right direction, it is a drop in the ocean, with over 130,000 kinship carers across England, many left without any financial support to care for their children.
"The Liberal Democrats will continue to fight for all kinship families to receive financial support on a par with foster carers and a right to paid employment leave.
"We will also continue to challenge the Government over its cuts to the vital adoption and special guardianship support grants which many kinship families rely on to fund desperately needed therapy."