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Our advice service

Are you a parent, kinship carer relative or friend of a child who is involved with, or who needs the help of, children’s services in England? We can help you understand processes and options when social workers or courts are making decisions about your child’s welfare.

Our advice service is free, independent and confidential.

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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.

Discuss on our forums

Our online advice forums are an anonymous space where parents and kinship carers (also known as family and friends carers) can get legal and practical advice, build a support network and learn from other people’s experiences.

Advice on our website

Our get help and advice section has template letters, advice sheets and resources about legal and social care processes. On Monday and Wednesday afternoons, you can use our webchat service to chat online to an adviser.

 

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Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016

The Government introduced the Welfare Reform and Work Bill to Parliament in July 2015.

Family Rights Group was severely concerned about the impact some of the Bill’s proposals would have on families including family and friends carers (also known as kinship carers) and young parents who had themselves been in the care system.

These concerns included:

  • Benefit cap and Kinship carers
    The Bill proposed a cap on the total amount of benefit a family could claim. Families who would be hit by the measure include kinship carers who already have their own children and gave up their job to raise a sibling group of children who would otherwise be in the care system.
  • Tax credits and Kinship carers 
    In addition to the benefit cap, the Bill also proposed to limit the tax credit a family could claim to a maximum of two children in the household.
  • Kinship carers and work related requirements
    The Bill introduced new requirements on parents of children under five to prepare to seek work and – for parents of three and four year olds – to demonstrate that they were actively seeking work. Failure to do so would result in a loss of universal credit.
  • Young care experienced parents
    We sought an amendment to the Bill to give care leavers aged under 25, and who were parents, the same standard allowance as parents aged over 25. Read our briefing on this amendment here.

Family Rights Group’s successful in securing amendments to the Bill

Family Rights Group lobbied successfully for children in kinship carer to be exempt from the two child limit on tax credits. We were also successful in securing an exemption for kinship carers of children aged four and under, from the work related requirements for universal credit.

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