Best Kinship Care Money Guide for Informal Carers in Scotland

If you're raising a relative's child in Scotland without any social work involvement — no formal assessment, no looked-after status, no Section 11 order — the best financial guide is one that starts from your actual situation rather than assuming a formal placement. Most kinship care advice online leads with the council allowance. Informal carers don't get the council allowance. That doesn't mean you get nothing — it means the payments you qualify for come from different agencies, and almost nobody lays them out in one place.

The Kinship Care Allowance and Money for Kinship Carers in Scotland guide covers informal carers as a specific arrangement type in its Tri-Agency Money Map, showing exactly which payments apply when there's no social work involvement and what changes if you later decide to formalise the arrangement.

The Informal Carer's Problem

Kinship care arrangements can begin informally — a child moves in with a grandparent or relative without social work involvement. The family handles it privately. This is entirely legal and often the best outcome for the child.

The financial problem is that most kinship care information is written for formal placements. The Scottish Recommended Allowance, which drives most of the "kinship care money" search results, does not apply to a private family arrangement without council involvement. Eligibility may arise for an approved looked-after placement, or for a carer holding a Section 11 Kinship Care Order if the child was previously looked after or assessed as at risk of becoming looked after. If you search for "kinship care allowance Scotland" and you're an informal carer, the first thing you find is a payment you can't claim.

What Informal Carers Can Actually Claim

The payments available without council involvement come from HMRC, DWP, and Social Security Scotland — not from your local council:

For an informal carer who qualifies for Child Benefit and Scottish Child Payment, those payments alone total £55.25 per week — over £2,800 a year — before any Guardian's Allowance or Universal Credit or Pension Credit additions.

What to Look for in a Guide

1. Informal Route as a First-Class Path

Most guides and factsheets treat the informal route as an afterthought — a footnote after the council allowance section saying "informal carers can't claim the SRA." A useful guide for your situation treats the informal route as a complete pathway: which payments apply, how to claim them, and the arithmetic showing what you'd receive.

2. Clear Comparison: Stay Informal vs Formalise

The single biggest financial decision for an informal kinship carer is whether to ask social work to assess the placement. A council assessment can be part of the route to a kinship care allowance, but eligibility is not automatic: approved kinship carers of looked-after children qualify under Regulation 33, while a Section 11 Kinship Care Order qualifies under Part 13 only if the child was previously looked after or assessed as at risk of becoming looked after. The gross SRA baseline is £177–£283 per week, and social work assessments can take up to 12 weeks.

A good guide lays out both paths side by side: the total money available on each route, what the assessment involves, what a Section 11 kinship care order does and doesn't require, and the practical implications of council involvement for your family.

3. Application Sequence for Informal Carers

The order you apply in matters even without council involvement. Claim Child Benefit promptly because an award can be backdated by up to 3 months. Best Start Grants require a qualifying benefit or Scottish Child Payment; Child Benefit alone does not qualify. Apply for Scottish Child Payment once you or your cohabiting partner receives a qualifying benefit. Guardian's Allowance is paid on top of Child Benefit and has separate eligibility criteria.

4. Printable Tools That Work for the Informal Route

A deduction audit worksheet is only relevant if you're receiving the council allowance. An informal carer needs different tools: an application tracker for the three non-council agencies, a communication log for HMRC and Social Security Scotland, and a benefits summary showing the total across all payments.

Who This Is For

• Grandparents or relatives raising a child in Scotland with no social work involvement who want to know what financial help exists for their specific situation
• Informal carers who've searched for "kinship care allowance Scotland" and found that the council allowance doesn't apply to them — and now need to know what does
• Carers considering whether to formalise the arrangement and wanting to understand the financial and practical trade-offs
• Family members helping an informal carer navigate the non-council benefit system

Who This Is NOT For

• Formal kinship carers already receiving the council allowance (you need the full multi-agency guide including deduction audit tools)
• Carers looking for legal advice about obtaining a Section 11 order
• Anyone outside Scotland — the devolved payments are Scotland-specific

Tradeoffs: Informal vs Formal

The financial gap between informal and formal care is real. But the decision isn't only financial — it involves family privacy, the child's wishes, the birth parent's situation, and whether council oversight is appropriate. A guide should present both paths honestly without pushing you toward formalising.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can an informal kinship carer in Scotland claim Child Benefit?

Yes. Child Benefit is an HMRC benefit that goes to the person the child lives with, regardless of whether social work is involved. Apply on Form CH2. If the birth parent currently claims Child Benefit, HMRC will investigate and transfer the claim to you as the person with primary care.

Is the Scottish Child Payment available to informal carers?

Yes. The Scottish Child Payment (£28.20/week per child under 16) is paid by Social Security Scotland to anyone receiving a qualifying benefit who is responsible for a child. It has no connection to the council's kinship care assessment. Many informal carers miss this payment because they assume it's part of the council system.

Should I formalise the arrangement just for the money?

The council kinship care allowance can add substantial income — £177 to £283 per week gross, depending on the child's age, if the placement meets the eligibility criteria. Whether to formalise depends on your full situation: the child's wishes, the birth parent's circumstances, and whether social work oversight is appropriate. Social work assessments can take up to 12 weeks. The Kinship Care Allowance and Money for Kinship Carers in Scotland guide includes a side-by-side comparison of informal and formal pathways showing the financial difference for different scenarios.

What if I can't afford to wait for a council assessment?

Local authorities can use discretionary powers under Section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 to make short-term payments, but this is not an automatic entitlement; ask your council about interim support. Meanwhile, national benefits such as Child Benefit and Scottish Child Payment do not depend on a council kinship assessment — apply for eligible payments while the council process is under way.

Do informal carers qualify for council tax reduction?

Council Tax Reduction is administered by your local council. Check your council's scheme to see whether your household qualifies.

See more Scotland guides →