Kinship carers play a vital role in our society, providing loving, stable homes for more than 141,000 children in England and Wales whose parents are not able to care for them. 

Grandparents, aunts, uncles, older siblings, other relatives and family friends step up, often at a point of crisis and in very challenging circumstances, to prevent children from entering the care system. 

Despite their critical contribution to the lives of many, kinship carers have been overlooked by successive governments. As a result, most kinship families receive little to no support, and according to our research, many are at breaking point. Nearly 1 in 8 told us a lack of financial support and help with their children’s needs meant they were concerned about their ability to continue caring for their children in the next year if their situations didn’t improve. This could mean devastating consequences for children, families and the state. 

The previous Government’s National Kinship Care Strategy (December 2023) finally gave kinship families some recognition, but the ‘radical reset’ proposed by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care has yet to be delivered. 

Kinship carers and the children they are raising need security and support as a matter of urgency. 

2024: turning the tide?

This summer has been a watershed moment. For the first time, kinship care was mentioned in the manifestos of England’s three leading political parties. Tireless campaigning over many decades by kinship carers – themselves already overstretched by the challenges of caring for children with little support – has got us to this point. 

And they’ve had some welcome help. 

In recent years, Liberal Democrats have stepped up to bring the experiences of kinship carers and the case for greater support for kinship families directly to Westminster. 

As spokesperson for Education, Munira Wilson MP has championed kinship care both in her Twickenham constituency and in Parliament. In 2022, she used a ten minute rule slot to introduce a Kinship Care Bill to the House, generating cross-party support to highlight the ways kinship carers and their children are denied the support they deserve.

As leader, Ed Davey MP has shared his own personal experience of spending time in kinship care with his grandparents during his teenage years and used this to advocate for a politics which recognises the importance of family and care in all its forms. 

We were particularly pleased to see such a strong focus on kinship care within the Liberal Democrat’s 2024 manifesto, including pledges to develop a financial allowance for kinship carers on a par with foster carers, extend Pupil Premium Plus funding to children in kinship care, and provide a statutory right to paid employment leave for kinship carers. 

These policy priorities reflect core elements of our #ValueOurLove campaign which is calling for equalised support between kinship families and foster and adoptive families. During this year’s General Election, 1,500 kinship carers and supporters lent their support to our campaign and shared information about kinship families in their local areas with more than 2,500 MP candidates covering 90% of all constituencies in England and Wales.

The groundswell of support for kinship care from politicians and the public is being felt more than ever. 

What’s next?

There’s a huge opportunity for the new UK Government to go further and faster. We want to see them follow our three step plan to maintain the momentum, deliver urgent financial, practical and emotional support for all kinship families, and build a new kinship care system. 

But this will only happen with the support and challenge of others in Parliament, pushing this Government to ensure all kinship families get what they need. Alongside longstanding allies in the Lords, including Lord Storey and Baroness Tyler, the 2024 class of Liberal Democrat MPs will, I have no doubt, play a vital role. 

Newly-elected MP for Carshalton and Wallington, Bobby Dean, used his maiden speech last week to celebrate the role his grandparents played in stepping up to care for him when things got tough in his family. This lived experience – and that of other decision makers – will be invaluable to making progress. 

Every child deserves a loving and stable home. With the help of supporters in and beyond the new Parliament, it’s possible to create the momentum for real change and transform the lives of kinship families across England and Wales. 

Every week we speak to kinship carers who tell us the same thing: “I stepped up to take them in, because I didn’t want them going into care. I love them, and I’d do it all over again, but it shouldn’t be this hard”. 

We’re grateful that they have friends who agree.

For more information visit www.kinship.org.uk

‘The Independent View‘ is a slot on Lib Dem Voice which allows those from beyond the party to contribute to debates we believe are of interest to LDV’s readers. Please email [email protected] if you are interested in contributing.

* Dr Lucy Peake is CEO of Kinship.