Grandmother wins landmark case to be paid as a foster carer
Lauren Higgs
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A kinship carer who looks after her granddaughter is to be paid the same wage as a foster carer, after winning a landmark ruling at the High Court.
The grandmother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, won her case against Kent County Council after a five-year battle.
She retired to start looking after her 15-year-old granddaughter in 2005, when Kent social services requested that she take the child into her care. But the council then argued that the girl's case was a "private arrangement".
That meant that the grandmother received £63.56 a week for the girl's care, as opposed to £146.23 each week, which is what the average foster parent receives.
The grandmother will now receive the same support as a foster carer, as well as back payments from the council.
Nigel Priestley, a lawyer from Ridley & Hall solicitors, who represented the grandmother, said Kent County Council "has been left with egg on its face", for suggesting the girl should not be treated as a looked-after child.
"The county council argued that it had no duty to the child even though its fingerprints were all over the case," he said.
"I accept when people say that blood is thicker than water, but the fact is that when you are 58 years old you are not planning to look after a 10-year-old child."
The grandmother added: "I put myself out and expected the local authority to do the same but they did not. When I heard that I had won I burst into tears. It means so much both to me and my granddaughter. Teenagers are very expensive to bring up – every parent knows that."
Lynn Chesterman, chief executive of The Grandparents' Association, said too many grandparents are looking after children without support.
"Unfortunately, this is all too common," she said. "It's the norm for grandparents to be given no help at all. I want to see grandparents offered the same support as those who look after children in care. Too often, as in this case, they are struggling to cope financially – living on a pension bringing up children and simply not having enough money."
Kent County Council plans to appeal the court's decision. If the Court of Appeal upholds the original decision it could cost the council a five-figure sum in legal costs and back payments.
