Children’s services must assess the need for support services, including financial help, if a child was looked after in the care system immediately before the special guardianship order was/is to be made. For all other cases, doing an assessment of need for special guardianship support services is discretionary. This means it is up to children’s services whether it is done or not.
Providing financial help is also discretionary. The level of financial support will be means tested. Government statutory guidance and case law (decisions made by senior judges in other cases) says children’s services should have regard to how much fostering allowance would have been paid had the child been fostered. See the Special Guardianship statutory guidance at paragraph 65.
Special guardians do not have to pay tax on special guardianship allowance. Their special guardianship allowance will not be taken into account when assessing whether they are entitled to means tested benefits.
Detailed information about special guardianship allowance and about welfare benefits is available in our advice sheets. See the Further information and advice box at the end of this page for details.