Request and track your council's special guardianship policy

Written and reviewed by Patricia Hughes · Last updated 4 November 2026 · last reviewed 4 November 2026

A council policy request asks for the documents used to assess special guardianship support. Start with the council's published policy and rate tables. If relevant documents are missing, ask its information team how to request them. Keep your own record of the request and response; this page is a practical template, not a live database of council policies.

Look for existing documents first

Search the council's website for its special guardianship policy, kinship care offer and current fostering allowance rates, recording the date and version of each document you find.

For English councils, the 2024 kinship care statutory guidance is a useful starting point when looking for the local support offer.

Check whether a document applies to your nation, the relevant financial year and the child's circumstances. A fostering fee policy may answer a different question from an allowance policy. The guide to asking for the policy explains the documents to request alongside your individual calculation.

Choose the right request

Use a general information request for existing policies and a private case enquiry for your family's records or individual decision.

For councils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, consult GOV.UK's freedom of information guide and the Information Commissioner's information rights guidance. Scottish public authorities operate under a separate system; use the Scottish Information Commissioner and the council's Scottish information request instructions.

Check the relevant official guidance for current response deadlines, exemptions and review routes. A request for recorded information is different from requiring the council to produce new advice, explain your personal case or create a new dataset. Keep the scope focused on documents that are likely to exist.

A request you can adapt

Send this through the council's published information request channel, replacing the bracketed items and removing anything you already have.

Subject: Request for special guardianship financial support policy and rate tables

Please provide electronic copies of the following recorded information held by the council for [financial year or date range]:

1. The special guardianship financial support policy in force during that period, including its approval date, version and any later amendments.
2. The fostering allowance rate tables used as a starting point for special guardianship financial support, identifying age bands and effective dates.
3. The written means-test guidance and a blank assessment form or spreadsheet, including recorded guidance about Child Benefit and other benefit deductions.
4. The written policy on reviews and on additional-needs payments.

I am requesting general policies and blank documents, not personal information about any child or family. If any item is already published, please provide the direct link and version. If you do not hold an item, please say which one. If the scope needs narrowing, please advise which part can reasonably be supplied. If information is withheld, please explain the basis and how I can seek a review.

Please reply to [your contact details].

Do not put a child's name, birth date, case number, court papers or your household finances into this template. Public request platforms can publish both your request and the response. Use an appropriate private channel for questions about your family.

Keep a simple personal tracker

Record the steps in a document or spreadsheet you control so that you can follow up on the specific missing information without starting again.

• Authority and contact: which council and which team received the request.
• Scope: the policy, financial years and documents requested.
• Request date and reference: keep the sent message and acknowledgement.
• Expected reply: record the date stated by the council and check it against official guidance.
• Response received: save the files, direct links and the date they arrived.
• Version checked: note approval dates, effective dates and any superseded documents.
• Outstanding items: identify missing tables, blank forms or unclear exemptions.
• Next step: record any clarification, internal review or regulator reference separately.

This site does not collect these records. Keep personal details out of any version you share publicly, and make clear if a policy's current status has not been confirmed.

Use the response to ask a better allowance question

Compare like with like before challenging a payment: the same age band, year, nation and type of support.

Use the national allowance tables to check the reference rate and the allowance calculator for an illustration with its assumptions. Then ask the council which policy version and inputs it used in your individual assessment. The means-test guide and Child Benefit deduction guide explain two common points to check. A difference from the illustration does not by itself establish that an award is wrong.

If the response is missing or incomplete

Follow the information review route for a missing policy response, and keep it separate from a complaint about the allowance decision itself.

Ask the council to identify any outstanding items and explain any withholding decision. Check the relevant regulator's current guidance before seeking an internal review or escalating an information rights complaint. An information request does not pause a separate complaint or court deadline. For an allowance decision, see complaining to the Ombudsman and obtain advice if a legal deadline may apply.

What you can check, and what you have to ask for

You can check published policy versions, compare dates and rates, and keep a record of what was requested and supplied. You can also distinguish a general policy from your own calculation.

Only the council can confirm which records it holds and which policy it actually applied to your case. Ask for those answers explicitly. Do not treat an old PDF or an unanswered request as proof of the current policy.