To ask the Minister of Health, Social Services and Public Safety for his assessment of the disparity in accessing services for kinship carers depending on whether the kinship arrangements are formal or informal.

Health and Social Care Trusts have a duty to maintain and support formal placements, as these children and young people in those placements are ‘looked-after’ children under The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995. As a result, all foster carers and formal kinship foster carers receive Foster Care Allowances; are allocated a supervising social worker to provide support and supervision; have access to a range of specialist and therapeutic supports as determined by the assessed needs of the child/young person; and are provided with a range of learning and development opportunities as well as educational support. In the majority of informal kinship care arrangements, parental responsibility, including provision of financial support, remains with the parent. Within such arrangements, there is an entitlement to support services and a general duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in those arrangements who are deemed to be “in need”, within the meaning of The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.