Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what is the eligibility criteria for local authorities to qualify to be a pilot area for a financial allowance for kinship carers.

All local authorities are eligible to apply for the Kinship Allowance Pilot, except for those which have received a section 114 notice and/or already offer a regular financial allowance that matches the National Minimum Allowance (NMA) to kinship carers with legal orders.

Local authorities remain eligible to apply if they pay a financial allowance that matches the NMA, but one of the following applies:

• Deductions are applied to the financial allowance, such as means testing.
• Financial support is provided for a limited duration.
• Financial support is only provided to some of the cohort.

Local authorities will be ineligible to apply for the kinship allowance pilot if all the following conditions are met:

• They provide a weekly financial allowance for all Special Guardianship Orders and Child Arrangements Orders, granted through either private or public law.
• The allowance is equal to or greater than the Fostering NMA.
• The allowance is paid continuously until the child turns 18.
• The allowance is not subject to any deductions or limits, such as means testing or time cap.

Further information can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/apply-to-become-a-kinship-allowance-pilot-provider.