Children Act 1989, SGO Financial Implications and Free Legal Help for Kinship Carers

How the Children Act 1989 Shapes Your Financial Options

The Children Act 1989 is a central piece of legislation shaping which local-authority support a kinship carer can access. Your legal arrangement — informal care, a Special Guardianship Order, a Child Arrangements Order, or a kinship foster placement — affects which agency pays you and whether support is mandatory or discretionary.

The key sections for kinship carers:

• Section 17 gives local councils a duty to safeguard children in need. This is where discretionary emergency payments, clothing grants, and one-off cash assistance come from. Any kinship carer can request a Section 17 assessment, regardless of legal status.
• Section 14A and 14F govern Special Guardianship Orders. Section 14F creates a mandatory duty for councils to assess whether an SGO holder needs financial support. This is the strongest statutory basis for a regular allowance.
• Section 8 covers Child Arrangements Orders (and legacy Residence Orders). Financial support under a CAO is discretionary — councils can pay an allowance under Schedule 1, Paragraph 15. Where the child was previously looked after, councils often exercise this discretion using their local policy.
• Sections 20 and 31 cover looked-after children. A child placed with a kinship foster carer under these sections must receive a fostering allowance at or above the National Minimum Allowance rate.

The practical consequence: an SGO requires the local authority to assess your need for financial support. A CAO leaves any council allowance discretionary. Informal care also leaves local-authority support discretionary under Section 17.

What Applying for an SGO Means Financially

Before applying for a Special Guardianship Order, it's worth understanding the financial shift that comes with it.

What you gain:

• A mandatory right to a financial support assessment from the local authority (Section 14F)
• Eligibility for a means-tested SGO allowance, benchmarked against the council's fostering rate minus Child Benefit and UC child element
• Continued eligibility for all mainstream benefits (Child Benefit, Universal Credit, Pension Credit)
• If the child was looked after immediately before the SGO, the originating council remains responsible for any assessed SGO allowance for three years, even if you move to a different area

What to be aware of:

• The SGO allowance is means-tested. If your household income is above the council's threshold (typically Income Support rate plus 20%), the allowance may be reduced or nil
• The assessment includes your partner's income and savings
• The council can review the allowance annually and reduce it if your circumstances improve
• If you were previously a kinship foster carer receiving the full fostering rate, the SGO allowance will usually be lower — though Regulation 7 allows up to two years of "no-detriment" remuneration to soften the transition

The Cost of Getting an SGO

Applying for an SGO under the Children Act costs £270 in court fees (as of 2026). Help with Fees may reduce or waive the fee if you meet its benefit or income and savings criteria. If you receive Universal Credit, your earnings must be below £6,000 a year. Check eligibility and apply using Form EX160 on GOV.UK.

If you use a solicitor, legal fees typically range from £3,000 to £8,000 or more, depending on whether the application is contested. But many kinship carers apply without a solicitor — especially when the local authority supports the application and the birth parents consent.

Free Legal Help

Several routes exist for kinship carers who can't afford legal representation:

Legal aid is available for SGO applications where the child is or was subject to care proceedings. Check eligibility through GOV.UK's legal aid checker or contact the Civil Legal Advice helpline (0345 345 4 345).

Family Rights Group offers a specialist advice line (0808 801 0366) for families dealing with children's services. They can explain the legal process, help you understand your council's obligations, and guide you through an SGO application.

Child Law Advice (run by Coram Children's Legal Centre) provides free legal information on family law and kinship care rights. Their website has step-by-step guides to court applications.

Citizens Advice can help with the benefit and financial aspects of kinship care, though they typically refer legal questions about court orders to specialist family law services.

McKenzie Friends and the Kinship charity can provide support for carers representing themselves in court. Kinship (formerly Grandparents Plus) runs a peer support network and advice service specifically for kinship carers navigating the system.

Making the Decision

The financial implications of applying for an SGO depend on your current arrangement and the child's history. If you're an informal carer with no local authority involvement, an SGO gives you legal security and opens the door to a means-tested allowance — but it also subjects your finances to annual review. If you're a kinship foster carer, an SGO usually means a drop in the regular payment but permanent legal stability.

The Money for Kinship Carers in England guide walks through every legal arrangement side by side, showing what each one unlocks financially, so you can make an informed decision before committing to a court application.

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