By phone or email
To speak to an adviser, please call our free and confidential advice line 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday 9.30am to 3pm, excluding Bank Holidays). Or you can ask us a question via email using our advice enquiry form.
Seven local authorities selected for kinship financial pilot
The Kinship Financial Pilot is a national government scheme to test providing kinship carers with a financial allowance to cover some of the costs of care, encouraging more family members or friends to come forward.
Today, 27th February 2026, the Government has revealed the seven local authorities that will be piloting the allowance to kinship families in their area.
Which local authorities will provide the allowance?
The new confirmed “Kinship Zone” are:
- Bexley (Greater London)
- Bolton (North West)
- Newcastle (North East)
- North East Lincolnshire (East Midlands)
- Medway (South East)
- Thurrock (East of England)
- Wiltshire (South West)
Kinship care is when relatives or friends who step in to raise children when their parents cannot.
Announced in the Autumn 2024 Budget, the pilot will enable those local authorities to test providing a new financial allowances to cover some of the costs of care, encouraging more family members or friends to come forward.
Eligible kinship carers will receive a weekly, non-means tested financial allowance which will be paid at a rate equivalent to the national minimum fostering allowance.
The allowance will be offered to kinship carers raising a child up to the age of 18, who is the subject of either:
- a special guardianship order (SGO)
- or a child arrangements order that specifies the primary residence of the child and who they will live with (‘lives with CAO’) and who would have otherwise been in care.
Each Kinship Zone will receive a package of funding and support, enabling local authorities to tailor delivery to local needs. Money saved by local authorities thanks to central government pilot funding will be redirected to other support schemes for family networks.
Cathy Ashley, Chief Executive of Family Rights Group, said:
“Grandparents, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters, and family friends, are stepping in to raise children – often at very short notice – and many face financial hardship as a result.
“Non-means tested financial support can help families meet the essential costs of raising children and enable those children to thrive within their family network, preventing the need for more costly arrangements within the care system.
“Family Rights Group welcomes this groundbreaking pilot which will begin supporting around 5000 children in the seven pilot areas from April.
“However, with over 150,000 children in England raised by family and friends in kinship care, only 3% are set to benefit in the near term.
“Across the country, many kinship families continue to experience inconsistent financial support and, at times, unfair practice. For example, some local authority policies and financial assessments do not adequately account for disability, placing disabled kinship carers and disabled children at particular disadvantage. This is an issue that national and local government need to address now.
“As each authority develops its kinship local offer, this is a key opportunity to involve kinship families directly in reviewing and improving how they financially support their kinship community.
“We urge national and local government to build the fair, effective support system that children and families need.”
How much is the Kinship Financial Allowance?
Eligible kinship carers will receive a weekly, non-means tested financial allowance which will be paid at a rate equivalent to the national minimum fostering allowance. The allowance will vary by the age of the child and their region of residence.
Which families will be eligible for the Kinship Financial Allowance Pilot?
The allowance will be offered to kinship carers raising a child up to the age of 18, who is the subject of either:
- a special guardianship order (SGO)
- or a child arrangements order that specifies the primary residence of the child and who they will live with (‘lives with CAO’) and who would have otherwise been in care.
This will include certain situations where an application for one of the above orders is being pursued through private law proceedings. For example:
- Kinship carers who have applied for a SGO through private law proceedings and have passed the First Hearing Dispute Resolution Appointment (FHDRA).
- Kinship carers who have applied for a “lives with” CAO and have attended a FHDR meeting, if one the following conditions apply.
For children subject to a ‘lives with CAO’, or where an application has been made as above, there are additional requirements to show the child ‘would have otherwise been in care’. This includes:
- immediately prior to the kinship care arrangement, the child was looked after by a local authority. This can be either via an interim care order or an arrangement under section 20 of the Children Act 1989.
- Immediately prior to the kinship arrangement, the child was or is still under a child protection plan.
- For ‘lives with’ child arrangements orders made in private law proceedings, the court ‘has noted safeguarding concerns arising from the contents of a welfare report’.
- A Family Group Decision Making meeting was convened and a decision was taken for the child named under the “lives with” CAO to live full-time with a named kinship carer; which is now happening.
- Both parents of the child subject to the “lives with” CAO are dead; but before they died, at least one of them was caring for and living with the child named under the “lives with” CAO.
- The child subject to the “lives with” CAO was abandoned by either or both of their parents and at least one of them was previously caring for and living with the child subject to the “lives with” CAO immediately before abandoning the child.
- Either one or both parents of the child subject to the “lives with” CAO are imprisoned but immediately prior to that, the parent/s were previously caring for and living with the child.
- Either one or both parents have been detained in hospital pursuant to the Mental Health Act 1983 but they were previously caring for and living with the child immediately prior to being detained.
Which local authorities are providing the allowance?
Seven local authorities have been selected to provide the allowance to eligible kinship families in their area:
The seven confirmed “Kinship Zone” local authorities are:
- Bexley (Greater London)
- Bolton (North West)
- Newcastle (North East)
- North East Lincolnshire (East Midlands)
- Medway (South East)
- Thurrock (East of England)
- Wiltshire (South West)
How were the seven local authorities chosen?
The seven local authority areas where chosen following an open selection process in June 2o25. The Government say the chosen areas reflect a mix of geography, demographics, and service models to test what works at scale in varied local contexts, so robust learning can be generated for future decisions.
When will the Kinship Financial Allowance Pilot start?
We understand the pilot will start from 1st April 2026. It will run for three and a half years until 2029.
How many children will benefit from the pilot?
The Government say around 5000 children will benefit.
How much is the Government spending on the pilot?
The Government say they are providing over £126 million of new funding confirmed for the first two years.
Why is the government running a pilot and not rolling it out everywhere?
The Government say they want to build robust evidence about what support works best at scale for kinship families before taking decisions about any potential national offer.
How will the Kinship Financial Allowance Pilot be evaluated?
The Kinship Financial Allowance Pilot’s impact on local authorities, kinship carers and children in their care will be assessed by Foundations – the What Works Centre for Children and Families – working in partnership with consultancy Alma Economics.
What happens if I already receive an allowance from my local authority?
You may continue to receive existing support. Kinship Zone local authorities will provide advice on how the pilot interacts with current local policies.
Can I opt out of the pilot?
Yes. Kinship carers do not have to claim the allowance.
Will receiving the Kinship Allowance affect my benefits?
Receiving the Kinship Allowance in pilot local authorities will not affect any of the following:
- Universal Credit including the Child Element
- Child benefit
- Guardian’s allowance
- Tax-free childcare entitlements
- Pension Credit (except where the allowance is saved as capital)
- Housing Benefit for customers over state pension age (except where the allowance is saved as capital)
For more information, please speak to the kinship zone local authority.
How do I claim?
The seven local authorities will inform eligible carers about how and when to apply.
Get help and advice
Family Rights Group provides free, independent and confidential advice for parents, kinship carers, relatives and friends of children who are involved with children’s services in England or need their help. We support families to work with social workers and understand the law, their rights and options.
Our funding means we can currently only help 4 in 10 people
Your donation will help more families access expert legal advice and support from Family Rights Group.
Donate Now