Informal Kinship Carer Scotland Benefits

If a child moved in with you through a private family arrangement — the parents asked you to take over, or the child simply started staying permanently — without social work involvement or a court order, you're an informal kinship carer. That means no council kinship allowance, but it does not mean no money at all.

Why Informal Carers Miss the Council Allowance

Local authority kinship allowances under the Scottish Recommended Allowance framework are available to carers of looked-after children (placed under Section 25 or a Compulsory Supervision Order) and carers holding a Section 11 Kinship Care Order or appointed guardian under Section 7 where the child was previously looked after or assessed by the council as "at risk of becoming looked after."

If neither condition applies — no social work referral, no Children's Hearing, no court involvement — the council has no statutory obligation to pay you a kinship allowance. Some councils offer limited discretionary Section 22 payments to informal carers in exceptional circumstances, but this is not guaranteed and varies widely by area.

What You Can Claim

Informal kinship carers in Scotland still access significant state benefits. None of these require a court order or social work assessment:

Child Benefit — £27.05 per week (eldest or only child) or £17.90 (additional children). Claim using Form CH2 from HMRC if you're responsible for a child who lives with you; a court order is not required just to claim.

Universal Credit child element — £303.94 per month per child if you receive UC. Report the child as a change of circumstances in your UC journal.

Scottish Child Payment — £28.20 per week per child under 16, paid by Social Security Scotland. You need a qualifying benefit (UC, Pension Credit, or legacy means-tested benefits).

Best Start Grants — Pregnancy and Baby Payment (up to £796.65), Early Learning Payment (£331.95), and School Age Payment (£331.95) at specific age milestones.

Guardian's Allowance — £22.95 per week on top of Child Benefit if both birth parents have died or one has died and the other meets specific conditions (missing, imprisoned 2+ years, or incapacitated and detained in hospital).

Best Start Foods — prepaid card for healthy food purchases if the child is under 3.

Adding Up the Numbers

For an informal carer on Universal Credit with one kinship child aged 8:

• Child Benefit: £27.05/week
• UC child element: £70.14/week
• Scottish Child Payment: £28.20/week
• Total: £125.39 per week

Compare that to a formal kinship carer with the same child receiving the SRA at £206.71 gross, and the informal carer receives roughly £81 less per week. That gap is the council kinship allowance (net of deductions).

Moving From Informal to Formal

If the child's situation involves any risk — the parents are unable to care for the child due to addiction, mental health, domestic abuse, or imprisonment — you may be able to formalise the arrangement and unlock the council allowance.

Two routes:

Contact your council's kinship team or social work department. If social work assesses the child as a "child in need" under Section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, the council may begin providing support. If the child is assessed as needing formal accommodation, they could gain looked-after status under Section 25, which triggers the Regulation 33 kinship allowance.

Apply for a Section 11 Kinship Care Order through the Sheriff Court. If the council assesses the child as previously looked after or at risk of becoming looked after, the Section 11 order unlocks Part 13 Kinship Care Assistance at the full SRA rate.

Formalising doesn't mean something is wrong with your care. It means the system recognises what you're already doing and provides the financial support that comes with it.

The Scotland kinship financial help guide walks through both the informal benefit claims and the formalisation process, with the forms and phone numbers for each step.

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