Receiving financial assistance
We provide financial assistance to kinship carers where:
- the child in their care has ‘looked after’ status
- the child in their care is not looked after, but is subject to a Kinship Care Order (previously a Section 11 Order) and is or was:
- previously looked after
- at risk of becoming looked after
Kinship carer allowances
In East Ayrshire, if a child is placed with you in advance of you being approved as a kinship carer, social work services will seek to support the arrangement financially through a wellbeing payment. This is a payment of £140 per week and is not subject to any type of deduction.
In emergency situations, to help you as a prospective carer receive a child into your care, you may be a need to make purchases to accommodate the needs of a new child in your home. We will deal with any such needs on a discretionary basis.
A wellbeing payment usually lasts for 12 weeks while you are assessed as a kinship carer. Upon approval as a kinship carer, you will receive a kinship carer allowance. The allowance you receive is set out below and equates to the Scottish Recommended Allowance which has been set by the Scottish Government.
Kinship carer allowances from 2024 to 2025:
- 0 to 4 years: £168.31 per week per child
- 5 to 15 years: £195.81 per week per child
- 16 years and over: £268.41 per week per child
Child related benefits
There are a number of child-related benefits offered by the Department of Work and Pensions that you may be entitled to as a kinship carer. We will help you explore what you may be entitled to.
Prospective carers will also complete a financial assessment together with the Health and Social Care Partnership’s Finance Team which will ensure that all available monies are being claimed. To achieve payment parity, this assessment will also determine the relevant deduction to the allowance in respect of additional child-related benefits.
Using the allowance
There are 16 key components that the allowance should cover:
- food
- toiletries
- clothes
- wear and tear
- hobbies and activities
- bedding
- furniture
- pocket money
- toys
- insurance and utility bill increases
- daily access to a computer and the internet for homework or course work
- transport costs for the child (for the purpose of attending review meetings, children’s hearings, contact, and travelling to school, college or another educational facility)
- mobile phone
- holiday costs to cover school holiday activities and family trips
- birthdays
- Christmas or other cultural or religious events
Kinship assistance
Part 13 of the 2014 Act and the 2016 Order states that kinship care assistance is available to children, and to those who may care for them, where:
- a person is applying for, or considering applying for, a kinship care order in relation to a child under the age of 16 who was previously looked after or is at risk of becoming looked after
- a person holds a kinship care order in relation to a child under the age of 16 who was previously looked after or is at risk of becoming looked after
- a person is a guardian by virtue of an appointment made under section 7 22 of the 1995 Act of a child under the age of 16 who was previously looked after or is at risk of becoming looked after, 23 unless they are also a parent of the child
- a child is under the age of 16, and subject to a kinship care order, and they were previously looked after or are at risk of becoming looked after
- a child is at least 16 years of age, they were subject to a kinship care order immediately before their 16th birthday, and they were previously looked after or are at risk of becoming looked after
- a child has a guardian by virtue of an appointment made under section 7 of the 1995 Act, and they were previously looked after or are at risk of becoming looked after.
If a kinship carer is seeking assistance to apply for a kinship care order, and it is in alignment with the plan for the child:
- an application should be made for legal aid, where household income is below £26,239, via an independent solicitor sought out by the kinship carer
- where legal aid to cover legal costs is not gained, the solicitor will ordinarily approach the local authority on the kinship carer’s behalf to seek further assistance
East Ayrshire has set a limit on what they will pay to assist kinship carers in applying for an order. These are:
- a maximum of £2,000 in uncontested cases
- a maximum of £4,000 in contested cases
Making a complaint
Any matters relating to the payment of kinship allowances or kinship assistance where there is disagreement, there is no right of appeal.
However, the health and social care complaints process is a potential avenue open to any carer who believes a process has not been applied correctly.
Comments, suggestions and complaints
Further information
Kinship carers should be advised that they are required to register as self-employed for tax purposes. Further information on this and wider matters relating to kinship carer finance is available via:
As a kinship carer you may be eligible for different types of financial support and benefits. East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership also provides financial advice through its Financial Inclusion team that kinship carers can access.