Are kinship fostering payments separate from the child’s benefits?

The treatment of a child’s benefits depends on the type of kinship arrangement and the benefit involved. An approved kinship foster carer should not assume that every payment connected with the child can be received in the same way, or that the fostering allowance automatically replaces the child’s benefit entitlement.

Fostering allowance and benefits have different purposes. A kinship fostering allowance is paid under the fostering arrangement to help meet the costs of caring for the child. A benefit may instead be paid because the child meets particular conditions, such as the rules applying to disability-related support, or because the adult is responsible for the child under a particular legal arrangement.

For an approved foster placement, benefits such as Child Benefit and the child-related parts of means-tested benefits may be restricted or unavailable to the foster carer for that child. This is not a universal rule for every payment. Disability-related benefits, for example, have their own eligibility and appointee rules. The person who is responsible for making a claim, receiving the money and using it for the child may therefore depend on the child’s circumstances and the relevant benefit regulations.

The legal basis for the placement is particularly important. An arrangement where a child is looked after by the local authority and placed with an approved kinship foster carer is treated differently from a special guardianship order, child arrangements order or informal family care. A payment that is available under one arrangement may be unavailable, treated differently or claimed by a different person under another.

Fostering payments can also affect the carer’s own benefit claim. The fostering allowance is not normally treated in the same way as wages, but means-tested benefits have detailed rules about fostering income, allowable expenses and the type of payment received. Other income, household circumstances and the benefit being claimed can all affect the calculation. Do not leave the allowance out of a benefits application simply because it is described as a fostering payment; ask the relevant benefits service how it must be declared.

Before making or changing a claim, check:

• whether the placement is an approved foster placement or another form of kinship care;
• which benefit is being considered and whether it is paid for the child, the carer or the household;
• who currently receives any payment and whether an appointee or responsible adult is recorded;
• whether the local authority’s fostering allowance includes any specific element for the child’s needs; and
• whether a change in the child’s placement or legal status must be reported.

Keep the fostering approval or placement documents, payment statements and benefit correspondence together. Ask the local authority’s kinship fostering team for confirmation of what its payment covers, then obtain a benefits check from the relevant benefits service or a suitably qualified welfare rights adviser. Written confirmation is useful where the child’s placement, disability-related needs or legal status makes the position less straightforward.

Do not stop an existing benefit or make a new claim based only on the name of the fostering payment. The correct outcome depends on the individual benefit rules and the legal arrangement, and an incorrect claim can lead to an overpayment that later has to be repaid.