Kinship Allowance Deduction Scotland

The amount your council pays you as a kinship carer in Scotland is almost never the headline SRA figure. Councils deduct certain state benefits from the gross rate before paying you the balance. Understanding exactly what they can deduct — and what they cannot — is the difference between accepting the right payment and being short-changed.

The Net Calculation

Scottish Government guidance directs councils to pay a net allowance. The starting point is the gross Scottish Recommended Allowance rate for the child's age band:

• Ages 0-4: £177.68 per week
• Ages 5-15: £206.71 per week
• Ages 16-17: £283.35 per week

From this, councils deduct "child-related state benefits" that the carer is entitled to claim but that a foster carer cannot. The logic is parity: since the SRA matches foster care rates, deducting benefits a foster carer doesn't receive keeps total household income the same.

What Gets Deducted

Child Benefit — The full weekly award: £27.05 for the eldest or only child, £17.90 for additional children (2026-27). This is the most common deduction and applies in virtually every case.

Universal Credit child element — £303.94 per month (£70.14 per week equivalent). If you receive UC with a child element for the kinship child, the council deducts it.

Child Tax Credit — The standard child element, for carers still on legacy tax credits rather than UC.

What Cannot Be Deducted

Several payments are explicitly protected under Scottish Government guidance:

Scottish Child Payment (£28.20 per week) — ring-fenced by law. This is the most commonly contested deduction. Some councils have incorrectly included SCP in their calculations. If yours does, it's wrong.

Guardian's Allowance (£22.95 per week) — excluded under national guidance.

Child Disability Payment — both care and mobility components are fully protected.

Universal Credit disabled child additions — ring-fenced from the offset calculation.

Best Start Grants and Best Start Foods — protected.

Carer Support Payment — not deducted from the kinship allowance (though it is deducted pound-for-pound from UC separately).

The Assumed Deduction Problem

The biggest practical issue with the deduction system isn't the rules themselves — it's timing. Multiple councils deduct Child Benefit and the UC child element from your allowance immediately on placement, before HMRC or DWP has actually started paying you those benefits.

If you've just submitted Form CH2 for Child Benefit and are waiting through a competing claim with the birth parent, you might not receive Child Benefit for 8-12 weeks. But the council may already be deducting £27.05 from your weekly allowance.

National guidance says deductions should reflect actual received income. If your council is deducting benefits you haven't received, raise it with the kinship team in writing. Ask them to use your actual benefit award dates and adjust the net payment until each benefit is confirmed.

How to Audit Your Deductions

Your council's decision notice should list every deduction and its amount. Check each line:

1. Is Child Benefit being deducted at the correct rate for your child's position (first child vs additional)?
2. Is the UC child element deduction based on your actual UC statement, or an assumed figure?
3. Are any protected benefits (SCP, Guardian's Allowance, Child Disability Payment) being deducted? They should not be.
4. Does the gross starting figure match the correct SRA age band?

If anything looks wrong, contact your council kinship team with the specific error and a copy of your actual benefit award letters. If they won't correct it, the KCASS helpline (08000 28 22 33) and CPAG Scotland can advocate on your behalf.

Council-by-Council Variation

While the SRA is a national framework, implementation varies. Renfrewshire Council publishes its net rates transparently (£161.31 for ages 0-4, £190.48 for ages 5-15, £267.50 for ages 16-17 in 2026-27, reflecting a standard Child Benefit deduction). Edinburgh verifies active benefit awards before applying deductions. Highland and island councils sometimes add geographic top-ups for remote transport and heating costs.

Your council's published kinship care policy should explain its specific deduction methodology. If it doesn't, ask for it in writing — you're entitled to know how your payment is calculated.

The Scotland kinship financial help guide includes a printable deduction audit worksheet that walks through every line of the calculation and flags the most common errors.

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