Children can meet potential kinship carers amid new Covid-19 restrictions

The regulations, which previously applied during the second national lockdown in November and the regional tier system that preceded it, allowed meetings between children in care and potential adopters but no such exemption applied to potential kinship carers, such as friends or family members.

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This prompted a threat of legal action by the charity Family Rights Group, which said the “failure to provide parity between potential kinship carers and adopters” was “discriminatory and unlawful”.

The government has now added what the charity calls a “significant” amendment to the Covid-19 regulations that come into force this week.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (All Tiers) (England) Regulations 2020 allows gatherings that are “reasonably necessary for the purposes of placing children, or facilitating children being placed, in the care of another person by social services, whether on a temporary or permanent basis”.

Family Rights Group had issued a legal letter in November citing their concerns around kinship carer meetings and requesting the regulations were addressed in subsequent restrictions. If the government had not included the provision the charity would have pursued legal action.

New: Family Rights Group secures significant amendment to Covid Regulations https://t.co/G7hzbMTaHt
Today the Government have issued Covid Regs which specifically enable children to meet with relatives for the purpose of the child potentially being placed in their care.

— Family Rights Group (@FamilyRightsGp) November 30, 2020

Cathy Ashley, Family Rights Group chief executive, said: “This is an important amendment to regulations especially at a time when the number of children in care is at the highest level since 1985.

“Many children will have experienced trauma and tragedy during the pandemic, and it is vital that if they cannot live with their parents, where possible, they are able to have the opportunity to be safely raised within their family network, for example by a grandparent or aunt or uncle.

“That we had to highlight the need for this change and threaten legal action is an example of how too often kinship care is an afterthought amongst decision makers rather than their first thought. Nevertheless we appreciate that the government has listened and has made these regulatory changes.”

A cross-party parliamentary taskforce's report in October called for kinship carers to be given more support and used more frequently by councils when placing children. 

It said that this form of care is widely unrecognised, underappreciated and often poorly supported.