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Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill

I support the amendments in this group in the name of my noble friend, which, as she set out, aim to simplify the process for approving kinship carers, balancing the importance of robust safeguards with greater flexibility and discretion within the process to speed it up in the best interests of the child.

As we heard in the previous group, kindship carers are an essential part of our care system, and their benefits are well known. Research indicates that, on average, children in kinship care achieve higher GCSE scores compared with those in non-kin foster care, and significantly higher than all looked-after children or children in need. Children in kinship care also experience better mental health and overall well-being compared with those in other out-of-home care settings, with the familial environment contributing to these positive outcomes. In addition, children in kinship care are more likely to remain in the same area and school, maintaining continuity in their social and educational environments, and are more likely to experience better long-term outcomes, including reduced involvement with the criminal justice system and improved employment prospects.

However, as my noble friend set out in her opening remarks, under the current system, many of those wanting to provide this form of care face significant

hurdles because the assessment frameworks for kinship carers are modelled largely on foster care standards and can include checks and interviews that can feel invasive or inappropriate in the context of family caregiving.

While, of course, there needs to be a careful balance and assessment made between the benefits of placing a vulnerable child with kinship carers, with whom—as we have heard—they will already have had a long-standing relationship, and a clear-headed evaluation of any potential risks and safeguarding issues, the current approval process can be unduly slow, causing delays in placing children with family during critical early moments. As we have heard, this means children may be placed informally for long periods with no proper support while assessments drag on, creating significant delays and exclusions. Some of the criteria around housing and income in particular can lead to the exclusion of willing, loving relatives being able to provide care for vulnerable young people within their kinship group.

With the inclusion of the new kinship offer in the Bill, it is clear that the Government recognise the value of kinship carers and are looking to provide greater support and continuity of support to them. I hope the Minister will carefully consider my noble friend’s amendments, which, taken together, offer a thoughtful, balanced reappraisal of the current process and, I believe, would enhance the impact of the measures already contained in the Bill.

Amendment 76, which would require the Secretary of State to carry out a full review assessing the effectiveness of the current pathways for approval within 12 months of Royal Assent, would also provide the Government with the opportunity to look at the practical impacts of these amendments, so that they can be changed or built on, depending on the effects they have had.