Review of law on kinship
If a child can’t live with their parents, they should ideally live with someone they already know and trust. This is called kinship care. The Law Commission will be carrying out a review into the legal framework for kinship carers. The project has been referred to us by the Department for Education who are seeking to ensure the legislative framework is fair, modern, and best meets the needs of some of the most vulnerable members of society.
The review will seek to understand how current legislation can lead to a variation in rights and entitlements for families and also the services provided for them. Simplifying legal orders available for kinship carers will increase both transparency and accountability of the system and make it easier for kinship carers to know what they are entitled to.
The project will begin when resources at the Commission become available, following the completion of current projects. The terms of reference for the project will be published in due course on our website.
Further details of this project are available here.