340 family carers and special guardians in Merseyside had been underpaid
for years by Liverpool City Council. Many of the carers were seen as
looking after relatives' children under private arrangements, and so
were deemed not entitled to what they would have been had the council
classified them as kinship foster carers.
The Ombudsman's findings should come as no surprise. As a recent Bristol University and Buttle UK study - details of which are in our special report on kinship care (p22) - found many informal kinship carers are living in such poverty that they have to go without basics such as hot food and heating.
In recognition of the vital role kinship carers play - both in raising children and preventing the state having to intervene formally - children's minister Edward Timpson recently wrote to councils urging them to ensure family and friends care policies were in place. A third are yet to do so.
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