Kinship carers and universal credit child element

The question of which kinship carers can get the child element in universal credit continues to cause some confusion. Generally, kinship carers of a child who is ‘looked after’ by the local authority should not get the child element. There is an exception if the kinship carer has legal parental responsibility for the child and certain other conditions apply. This is unusual and would not apply to most kinship carers of a looked after child.

If the child is not looked after, then there is no barrier to the child element being paid. 

If the child element is paid in error – as sometimes happens – an overpayment of universal credit will build up, storing up problems for the kinship carer. 

See Kinship carers and universal credit for more information.