CoramBAAF welcomes the launch today of the long awaited kinship allowance pilot in seven local authorities.
Backed by £126 million, the kinship allowance will reach around 5,000 children, and we therefore welcome this investment in kinship families knowing the financial challenges many face. Kinship carers in the seven local authorities will receive an allowance equivalent to what foster carers receive. Each local authority will receive a package of funding and support, enabling local authorities to tailor delivery to local needs.
The government intention to pilot a kinship allowance was set out in the national kinship care strategy published in December 2023 with the financial commitment made in the Autumn budget in 2024. The local authority expression of interest closed in July 2025 and we have been expecting an announcement of the successful local authorities and a launch of the pilot since Autumn 2025.
The Department for Education has stated the seven local authority zones intentionally offer a useful mix of geography, demographics, and service models to enable testing of what works in varied local contexts that will inform the learning needed to hopefully roll out the allowance more widely. The pilot is expected to run for three and a half years and will be independently evaluated by Foundations and Alma Economics, with Coram working as a partner to the project providing sector expertise.
The seven 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)
We know some local authorities already pay a non-means-tested allowance for kinship carers equivalent to what foster carers receive. However, many carers continue to be impacted by lack of up-to-date guidance around fair and consistent financial assessment. Challenges around payment of financial support undermine local authority’s abilities to develop fair and comprehensive local offers that build trust with the kinship communities they are trying to serve.
We hope the launch of the pilot will also result in some much-needed guidance to support those local authorities not benefitting from the additional investment, so that more kinship families can enjoy consistent and fair financial support while the sector waits for the learning from the pilot to inform national decision-making. We also hope that kinship families and local authorities won’t be waiting the full three and a half years for further national investment, as financial support is integral to kinship families receiving the holistic support many need.