Children In Care

Bob Spink
To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether any financial incentives are available to families caring for a child under a special guardianship order.

Dawn Primarolo
Local authorities have discretion to provide financial support. There is no requirement for a local authority to provide financial support to an individual family. However, where an assessment of a person's need for financial support is made and it is decided that a person has such needs, the local authority must decide whether to provide the support and in making this decision they must act in accordance with regulations and must act reasonably. Financial support can be paid to help secure a suitable special guardianship arrangement where such an arrangement cannot be readily made because of a financial obstacle.