Kinship Care Alliance: Policy Briefings

The Kinship Care Alliance aims to influence legislation, policy and professional practice in order to:

• Prevent children from being unnecessarily raised outside of their family network
• Ensure that the opportunities and resources available to children living with kinship carers maximise their chances of positive outcomes
• Secure improved recognition and support for family and friends carers and the children they are raising.

Led by Family Rights Group in collaboration with members of the Kinship Care Alliance, its achievements include securing:

• The exemption of children in kinship care from the limiting of child tax credit to two children in the household
• Extending accessibility to the Adoption and Special Guardianship Support Fund to children on a special guardianship order who had previously been in care
• Extending Pupil Premium Plus to children under a special guardianship order or child arrangements order who had previously been in care
• Exemptions from severe legal aid reforms, so that, in some circumstances, kinship carers remain eligible from legal aid in private family court proceedings when securing the future of a child at risk
• We have published an Agenda for Action 2019 that sets out an ambitious programme of reform
• We ran an e-lobby campaign during the 2019 General Election to promote awareness of kinship care amongst Parliamentary candidates and to encourage their sign up to the Agenda for Action.

The Kinship Care Alliance expressed significant concerns about the potentially negative impact of some of the measures in the Bill on kinship carers. The briefings below set out our specific concerns and set out proposed amendments drafted by Family Rights Group on behalf of the KCA, and the rationale for these amendments.

• Briefing for House of Lords report stage of the Welfare Reform and Work Bill on an amendment to exempt kinship carers from the limiting of child tax credit to 2 children
• Written evidence to the House of Commons Welfare Reform and Work Bill
• Written submission to the Joint Committee on Human Rights
• A briefing to peers on an amendment to exempt kinship carers from the child tax credit two children limit
• Briefing for the House of Lords on an amendment to the Welfare Reform and Work Bill to exempt kinship care households from the benefit cap
• Briefing for the House of Lords on an amendment to the Welfare Reform and Work Bill in respect of exempting kinship carers raising children aged under 5 from work conditionality requirements