Kinship Zones: the pilot paying the full fostering rate

Written and reviewed by Patricia Hughes · Last updated 29 August 2026 · last reviewed 29 August 2026 · rates for 2026/27

What it is

From April 2026, seven English councils are paying eligible kinship carers an allowance equal to the full fostering National Minimum Allowance, with no means test.

The seven councils

Bexley · Bolton · Newcastle upon Tyne · North East Lincolnshire · Medway · Thurrock · Wiltshire

Councils that were already paying an NMA-equivalent allowance were not eligible to apply, so the absence of a council from this list does not mean it pays less.

I re-check this list every three months, because a pilot is exactly the sort of thing that changes quietly. It is what I hold today, not a promise about next year.

Who qualifies

• You hold a special guardianship order, or a "lives with" child arrangements order.
• Without you, the child would otherwise be in local authority care.
• You are not already receiving regulation 6 financial support for that child.

If you are in a pilot area but already on support

You cannot have both. But the comparison is still useful: if the pilot rate for your child's age band is higher than what you receive, that is a concrete figure to put to your council when you ask for a review. My calculator shows you the comparison when it applies.

The caveats worth holding on to

• It is a pilot, running to 2029, and it is being evaluated.
• It does not change any council's legal obligations outside the seven areas.
• A national rollout would be a significant change, but nobody can promise one.

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

The pilot itself is a matter of record. Seven councils, the full fostering national minimum allowance, no means test, funded to 2029.

Whether it reaches you is a decision rather than a fact. It turns on whether the child would otherwise be in care and on what you already receive, and only your council can apply that to your family. Ask it straight out.