Support for Kinship Carers: What Must Councils Tell You?
Last updated: 7 November 2026 · Written by the family law paralegal team at Court Help Limited
In short: Support for kinship carers is now written into law. Since 29 June 2026, every council in England has had to publish a "kinship local offer" under section 22H of the Children Act 1989. It must explain the council's approach to kinship families, what financial help exists, and which services can help with health, family contact, school and housing.
Key facts | Detail |
What changed | Councils must publish a kinship local offer: their approach to kinship care, financial support and services for kinship children and carers |
In force from | 29 June 2026 |
Where it applies | England. The statutory guidance applies in England only; Wales has its own social care law |
The law | Children Act 1989 ss22H and 22I, added by the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 s5; Kinship care statutory guidance (October 2026) |
Who it affects | Grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, family friends and other connected people raising a child, and the children they care for |
Source checked | legislation.gov.uk and GOV.UK, 7 November 2026 |
What is kinship care?
Kinship care is when a child lives with a relative, a family friend or someone else they're connected to, because their parents can't look after them. Most of the time it's a grandparent. It can also be an aunt, an uncle, an older brother or sister, or a close family friend.
The new section 22I of the Children Act 1989 puts this into law for the first time. In plain terms, a child lives in kinship care when they live with a relative, friend or other connected person who gives them most or all of their day-to-day care. Parents don't count, and nor do foster carers the council has placed the child with who had no earlier link to the child, or people caring for the child as part of their job.
It doesn't matter whether there's a court order. Some kinship carers have a special guardianship order or a child arrangements order. Some are approved foster carers for a child in care. Many simply stepped in one evening and have not been near a court since.
What was the law before?
Before June 2026, councils in England were expected to publish information for kinship carers, but that expectation came from statutory guidance rather than from an Act of Parliament. In practice, what carers were told varied a lot from one area to the next, and carers with no court order often found it hardest to get clear answers.
What changed, and when?
Section 5 of the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 added two new sections, 22H and 22I, to the Children Act 1989. They came into force on 29 June 2026, two months after Royal Assent, under section 78(2) of the 2026 Act. They are law in force now, not a plan or a pilot.
Here's what section 22H requires a council to do, put simply:
Publish its general approach to supporting children in kinship care and their carers in its area.
Publish information about financial support that may be available, whether it comes from the council itself or from someone else, such as a charity.
Publish information about services that could help, including health and wellbeing, relationships (such as contact with parents and other relatives), education and training, and accommodation.
Take reasonable steps to make sure the people who need the information actually get it.
Review and update it from time to time.
Consult people who represent kinship families before publishing or updating it, and publish a report on that consultation.
Together, this information is called the council's "kinship local offer".
The Department for Education updated its Kinship care statutory guidance for local authorities in October 2026, with the latest version dated 30 October 2026. It applies in England only and is issued under section 7 of the Local Authority Social Services Act 1970, which means councils must follow it unless there's an exceptional local reason not to. The guidance says the offer should cover every kinship arrangement, formal and informal, and should respond to what a family needs rather than just their legal status.
The kinship local offer at a glance | Detail |
Who must publish it | Every council in England with children's social care duties |
What it must cover | The council's approach, financial support, and services for health and wellbeing, relationships, education and training, and accommodation |
Who it's for | Kinship children and their carers, with or without a court order |
Where to find it | The guidance says it should be freely available, including on the council's website and in leaflets |
How often it's updated | From time to time, after consulting kinship families |
What does it mean for you? Support for kinship carers in practice
The biggest change is simple: your council now has a legal duty to publish what it offers, so you can see it for yourself. You shouldn't have to ring round three departments to find out whether help exists.
Start by searching your council's website for "kinship local offer". If you can't find it, email children's services and ask for a copy. The guidance says councils should explain eligibility rules and how to apply for financial support, and that where support is agreed, there should be a written agreement setting out how much, for how long and when it will be reviewed.
If you have no court order
Informal kinship carers are covered by the offer too. The guidance says that, as a minimum, councils should point informal carers to local peer support groups, training from the charity Kinship, and the Family Rights Group advice line. Financial help is less certain without a court order, so ask what the council can offer under its general duty to support children in need. If you're worried about a child's safety at home, our guide to referrals to children's services explains what happens next.
If you have a special guardianship or child arrangements order
Councils can pay a special guardianship allowance, but this is at their discretion and usually depends on an assessment. Special guardianship support plans should be reviewed each year. Councils also have a power to pay an allowance to carers with a child arrangements order where that's the best way to protect the child's welfare. If you're thinking about applying, GOV.UK says you must tell the council in writing three months before you apply for special guardianship, and the court fee is £270. Our guide to family court fees in 2026 covers help with fees if money is tight.
If you're a kinship foster carer
If the child is in care and you've been approved as their foster carer, the guidance says your fostering allowance must be worked out on the same basis as for any other foster carer, and at least at the national minimum allowance. You can read more about contact with children in care, which often matters a great deal in kinship placements.
For example
For example, a grandfather has been looking after his granddaughter for four months since her mother went into hospital. There's no court order. He isn't sure whether he can get any help with school uniform or the cost of a bigger car. He finds his council's kinship local offer online, sees that informal carers can join a monthly support group and ask for a needs assessment, and emails the named contact. He also learns that, as a relative, he could apply for a special guardianship order without the court's permission once his granddaughter has lived with him for a year. The same steps would work just as well for a grandmother, an aunt or a family friend.
Can grandparents get custody of grandchildren in the UK?
The family courts don't use the word custody any more, but yes, grandparents can apply for an order so that a grandchild lives with them. The two usual routes are a child arrangements order, applied for on form C100, and a special guardianship order, applied for on form C1. Both give the carer parental responsibility. A special guardian can usually make day-to-day decisions without first agreeing them with the parents.
Whether you need the court's permission first depends on your situation. GOV.UK says a relative can apply for special guardianship without permission if the child has lived with them for at least a year, and anyone can if the child has lived with them for three of the last five years, among other routes. Our guide to grandparents' rights explains when permission is needed for contact or a lives-with order.
What if the child is at risk of going into care?
If children's services are worried about a child, the family is often the first place they look. Since 15 July 2026, councils in England must offer a family group decision-making meeting before applying for a care order in most cases, so relatives can put forward a plan. Our article on the family group conference before care proceedings explains how that works. The kinship local offer should then tell you what support is available if you do take the child on.
Other help worth knowing about
Legal advice: the guidance notes that legal aid may be available to kinship carers in some proceedings, subject to the means and merits tests, and that councils can choose to fund legal costs for carers who don't qualify.
Work: you have a day-one right to ask for flexible working and to take one week of unpaid carer's leave every 12 months. There's no statutory paid kinship leave, although some employers offer it.
School: virtual school heads already support children who left care through a special guardianship or child arrangements order. The guidance says new duties covering children in kinship care more widely are due to start in September 2027.
Advice lines: the guidance lists Kinship on 0300 123 7015 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 2pm) and Family Rights Group on 0808 801 0366 (Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 3pm).
Frequently asked questions
What is a kinship local offer?
It's the information a council in England must publish under section 22H of the Children Act 1989 about how it supports kinship children and their carers, including financial help and services for health, family contact, education and housing.
Do kinship carers get paid?
It depends on the arrangement. Kinship foster carers get a fostering allowance on the same basis as other foster carers. Special guardians and carers with a child arrangements order may get an allowance at the council's discretion. Informal carers aren't automatically paid, but they can ask what help is available.
Do I need a court order to get support from the council?
No. The guidance says the kinship local offer should cover formal and informal arrangements and respond to need rather than legal status. The level of help can still differ depending on whether you have an order.
Does the kinship local offer apply in Wales?
The Kinship care statutory guidance applies in England only. Wales has its own social care law, so if you live in Wales, ask your council what it offers kinship carers.
What can I do if my council hasn't published one?
Ask children's services in writing for a copy and keep a note of the date. If you don't get a proper answer, use the council's complaints procedure, which the guidance says the offer should explain or point you to.
How we can help
Court Help Limited is a family law paralegal firm in England and Wales. We're not solicitors and we don't represent clients in court, but we can help you understand your options as a kinship carer, prepare court forms such as the C1, C13A and C100, and get your paperwork in order. Email help@incourt.co.uk or use the contact form on our website. You can also read what our clients say in our Google reviews.
Related guides
Sources
Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, section 5, legislation.gov.uk, checked 7 November 2026
Children Act 1989, section 22H, legislation.gov.uk, checked 7 November 2026
Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, section 1, legislation.gov.uk, checked 7 November 2026
Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, section 78, legislation.gov.uk, checked 7 November 2026
Kinship care: guidance for local authorities, GOV.UK (updated 30 October 2026), checked 7 November 2026
Become a special guardian, GOV.UK, checked 7 November 2026
This article is general information about the law in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and should not be relied on as legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts, and court fees and procedures change, so check GOV.UK for the latest position. Court Help Limited is a family law paralegal firm, not a firm of solicitors, and does not represent clients in court.
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