On 8 July 2026 the Law Commission published its consultation paper on kinship care.[1] It contains our provisional proposals for, and questions about, reform of the law governing kinship care in England and Wales. We are conducting a public consultation, which will run until 16 October 2026.
This article focuses on significant issues discussed in the consultation paper and our key provisional proposals for reform. We welcome responses to the consultation from Resolution members, which can be made through our project webpage, or sent by email.[2]
A brief overview of the project
The September/October 2025 issue of The Review contains our previous article, introducing Resolution members to the kinship care project. Readers may wish to refer to this for a full introduction to our project. Terms of Reference for our project are also available online.[3]
In brief, and as many of you will know, kinship care arises when a child is cared for by an adult relative or family friend for a significant amount of time. Based on the 2021 Census, it is estimated that, in England and Wales, around 141,000 children live in kinship care arrangements with related carers,[4] and a further 23,000 with unrelated kinship carers, such as a family friend.[5]
A parent may not be able to care for their child for a variety of reasons; we recognise that kinship care may take place within a cultural context where it is common for extended family members to play a primary caregiving role. However, our project is primarily, although not exclusively, concerned with kinship arrangements that are entered into out of necessity, where the child cannot remain with their parents. Often, the kinship care arrangement will therefore be an alternative to the child entering the care system.
Our project considers the following forms of kinship care arrangements: informal kinship care (including private foster care), kinship foster care (where the carer has been assessed as a local authority foster carer for a “looked after” child), child arrangements orders (CAO) and special guardianship orders (SGO).
Issues discussed in the consultation paper
The current legislation and the processes surrounding it can lead to a variation in rights and entitlements for kinship families. We have heard of numerous challenges facing kinship carers: the approach that the current system takes to kinship care arrangements; the processes involved; and the exercise of rights granted to kinship carers under different types of arrangements – particularly whether carers gain parental responsibility (PR) for the child.
We have also heard concerns about funding and support for kinship families, although the reform of funding is outside the scope of our kinship care project.
Issues relating to the processes involved in kinship care
Kinship carers may feel confused about whether to seek an order to regulate the arrangement, and the implications of different orders, including the support that may be available (see below).
We have been told that there is a general lack of information available to kinship carers (and sometimes to parents) about kinship care (although we note the requirement, introduced in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, for local authorities in England to publish their “kinship local offer”). This lack of information can be a particular issue in care proceedings, where kinship carers may not be identified until late in the process, may not be parties to the proceedings, and often do not have legal advice or representation.
As we noted in our previous article, we have also been told that assessment processes for kinship carers are inadequate; this is particularly the case for kinship foster care, where the assessment process is designed for unrelated foster carers, but can also apply in SGO cases. The approach taken to such assessments also varies between local authorities.
The level of support available to kinship carers depends on the type of kinship care arrangement and may also depend on the discretion of the individual local authority.
Issues relating to legal status and availability of rights
The legal consequences of the currently available private law orders and public law orders and placements range from the ability of the kinship carer legally to make decisions regarding the child’s upbringing through the exercise of PR, to the need to consider contact between the child and their parents (as well as their siblings or wider family).
We consider that reform is needed to the current legal orders used in kinship care (CAOs and SGOs), which were not devised specifically with kinship care alongside parents in mind. In particular, the following issues suggest that reform is required:
- whether a kinship carer obtains PR and whether it can be used to the exclusion of the parents’ PR depends on the type of order made
- the current law focuses on permanence as a long-term solution to meet a current inability of the parents to look after a child. This is especially notable in the use of SGOs, now mostly made in kinship care situations. This focus affects the possibility of the child returning to their parents’ care, where this can safely be achieved
- kinship carers are often left unsupported to manage contact between the child and the parents, whilst managing their own relationship with the parents (many kinship carers are the child’s grandparents, or otherwise related to the child’s parents)
- there is evidence of racial and cultural bias operating both in the way in which kinship care is formalised, and the type of order which is supported by local authorities involved in kinship care arrangements
- until the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, there was no legal definition of kinship care in England. These is no legal definition in Wales. This can result in a lack of awareness of kinship care and therefore a lack of support for those in kinship care arrangements
- informal arrangements are the most prevalent type of kinship care arrangement. Kinship carers in these situations do not have PR, and cannot gain it without obtaining a court order
Provisional proposals in the consultation paper
We focus on our key proposals for a definition of kinship care: the definition of kinship care; a kinship care order; and for a kinship parental responsibility agreement.
A definition of kinship care
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026 inserts a definition of kinship care into section 22I of the Children Act 1989, for the purposes of provisions of the 2026 Act relating to kinship care. That definition applies in England only. It defines a kinship carer as a relative, friend or other person connected with a child, with whom the child either lives for all the time, or for more time than the child lives with a parent, and who provides all the care and support to the child, or more care and support than is provided for the child by a parent.
We propose that this definition be used in both England and Wales for the purposes of provisional proposals we make in our consultation paper. Firstly, to determine eligibility for our proposed kinship care order (KCO). Here we would add an additional requirement that the child must have lived with the kinship carer applicant for at least 28 days before a KCO can be sought. Secondly, to identify who could apply for a kinship parental responsibility agreement (kinship PRA).Here we think that there should be a further limiting requirement that the prospective kinship carer must be a relative – that is, a grandparent, brother, sister, uncle or aunt (whether of the full blood or half blood or by marriage or civil partnership) or step-parent – of the child (the definition in section 105 of the 1989 Act).
Kinship Care Order
Our preferred reform route – in line with our Terms of Reference – is to introduce a bespoke KCO, which would replace CAOs and SGOs for kinship carers.
The KCO we propose would be a flexible order tailored to the facts of the individual kinship care arrangement, to meet the needs of the child and their family. The key features of a KCO would be:
- Welfare of the child: the child’s welfare would continue to be of paramount importance in the court’s decision-making, and the “welfare checklist” contained in section 1(3) of the Children Act 1989 would apply
- The kinship guardian: the KCO would appoint a “kinship guardian” for the child who must be a kinship carer (in accordance with the definition we propose above). If a kinship carer cannot meet these requirements, we propose that they could apply for an interim KCO (see below) with the court’s permission
- Living arrangements: the KCO would regulate the living arrangements for the child, specifying that the child is to live with the kinship guardian. If appropriate, the KCO will also specify anyone else with whom the child is to live or have contact, and when
- The child’s relationship with their parents: the court would be directed to consider the child’s relationship with their parents when making a KCO. We also ask for views on whether there should be a rebuttable presumption on the making of a KCO that the involvement of a parent in a child’s life will further their welfare
- Parental responsibility: a KCO will grant PR to the kinship guardian for the child. The court would need to consider how PR should be shared between the kinship guardian and the parents. The court may also grant “enhanced PR” (like that currently held by a special guardian) to a person named in the KCO. We invite consultees’ views on whether the possibility of granting enhanced PR should be limited to kinship guardians or should include parents
- Duration: the duration of a KCO would be flexible, to be determined by the court, reflecting the fact that kinship care may arise when a parent is temporarily unable to care for the child over the short to medium term, as well as where it is unlikely that the parents will safely be able to resume care without risk of harm to the child
- Interim KCOs: an interim KCO could be made during proceedings for a maximum period to be specified in the order. We invite views on what the maximum period for an interim KCO should be
- Support: where the local authority is involved in a case, a Kinship Care Support Plan will be attached to the KCO. We invite views on the extent to which a local authority should be required to assess the support needs of those involved in a kinship care arrangement and how this might operate
- Restriction on applications: if no KCO is in force, a kinship carer who is able to apply for a KCO would no longer be eligible to apply for a child arrangements order (CAO) or special guardianship order (SGO) in respect of the child, but this would not affect kinship carers who already hold those orders. Those other than kinship carers eligible to apply for a KCO could still apply in the usual way for CAOs, SGOs, a prohibited steps order or a specific issue order
- KCO framework is dominant: where a KCO is in force, any decision about the child who is the subject of the KCO should be made by an application within the KCO framework to vary the order, as opposed to by an application for any other order
We have not made provisional proposals on the assessment process for a KCO, instead, we ask for consultees’ views on who should prepare any assessment or report; whether there should be a requirement to notify the local authority before an application for a KCO is made; and the matters which should be covered by any assessment or report.
Reforms to special guardianship orders and child arrangement orders
If the KCO were not introduced, we propose reforms to SGOs and CAOs. While space does not permit us to explore these in detail, the reforms are intended both to ensure that the court considers the potential for a child to be reintegrated into their parents’ care and to protect the stability of kinship placements; and to emphasise the importance of local authorities considering what help may be needed to support contact between a child in kinship care and their parents. When kinship care is raised within public law proceedings, we propose that it should be possible for the court to make an interim SGO, to enable proper assessment of an arrangement before a final order is made. We also propose that a kinship carer should be able to apply for a CAO without needing to meet the existing requirement that the child must have lived with them for a year.
Kinship parental responsibility agreements
Step-parent PR agreements already exist in current law; the agreement is filed at and sealed by the Central Family Court, providing the step-parent with PR for a child.
We propose that a kinship PRA should be available to kinship carers (within the amended definition we propose above) which will, effectively, allow close relatives of the child to acquire PR for a child they are caring for.
We think that a kinship PRA could make it easier for the large informal cohort of kinship carers to care for the child by allowing them to make day-to-day decisions and to engage with services such as doctors and schools.
We propose that kinship PRAs could vary in duration, with a minimum period of one year. We also propose that it should be possible for a kinship PRA to take effect either on the agreement being recorded at the court or on a specified future date, allowing for forward planning where it is known that a parent will be unable to care for a child from a certain date. We propose that the process for making the proposed kinship PRA will be the same as that for making a step-parent PRA.
Kinship foster care
A child may be placed with a family member or friend in a kinship care arrangement by the local authority, who will need to assess whether kinship care can offer a viable arrangement for the child. We think that the rules around such placements may not be sufficiently adapted to care by a kinship carer, rather than by an unrelated foster carer. Following Wales’ lead in these areas, we ask whether, in England, there should be fostering regulations that are adapted specifically to kinship care, and we also propose that visits to and reviews of a placement should take place less frequently in the kinship care context. We also propose that all local authorities should use a prescribed kinship foster care form for the assessment of kinship carers.
Conclusion
We are seeking views on our provisional proposals from as many people and organisations with an interest in kinship care as possible. These views will be carefully considered when we make final recommendations in our report, which is due to be published in autumn 2027. The full consultation paper is available here: Kinship care: consultation paper – Law Commission. The consultation runs until 16 October 2026.
We would encourage as many Resolution members as possible to respond at Law Commission consultation on kinship care (consultation paper) – Ministry of Justice – Citizen Space.
We will host consultation events both online, and in-person across England and Wales; our project page will list these events, see Kinship care – Law Commission.
For any further information or queries, Resolution members may wish to contact us at [email protected].
[1] Law Commission of England and Wales, Kinship Care Consultation Paper, (July 2026) Consultation Paper 278, Kinship care: consultation paper – Law Commission. A summary of the consultation paper is also available here: Kinship care: consultation paper summary – Law Commission.
[2] We ask that you respond via the consultation platform if possible: Law Commission consultation on kinship care (consultation paper) – Ministry of Justice – Citizen Space. Our email address is: [email protected].
[3] Terms of Reference for the kinship care project are on our website at: https://lawcom.gov.uk/publication/kinship-care-terms-of-reference/.
[4] ONS, Kinship care in England and Wales: Census 2021 (September 2023). Available online at https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/families/articles/kinshipcareinenglandandwales/latest#children-living-in-kinship-care. The census data defined children in kinship care as “usual residents who were aged 17 years and under on Census Day, who lived in households without a parent present, but with adults aged 18 years and over who were their sibling(s), grandparent(s), or other relatives, such as their aunt(s), uncle(s), or cousin(s). Children living with adults who are all unrelated to them are excluded from this analysis.”
[5] Family Rights Group, 164,000 children are growing up in kinship care in England and Wales, 26 September 2023. Available online at https://frg.org.uk/news-blogs-and-vlogs/news/164000-children-are-growing-up-in-kinship-care-in-england-and-wales/.
