Kate Dearden

On that note, I pay tribute to the brilliant Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for Whitehaven and Workington (Josh MacAlister), for all his incredible work on kinship carers. I absolutely recognise the importance of cross-Government and cross-Department work on the issue, and I reassure my hon. Friend the Member for Southampton Itchen (Darren Paffey) that our intention is to work in a joined-up way to support kinship carers throughout their lives, and to look at where we need to go further and do better. That is why this debate is welcome and important, as we consider the parental leave and pay review. Of course, colleagues will be fully aware of the significance of the work being undertaken in the Department for Education, from the kinship allowance pilot, which will provide kinship carers with a weekly allowance equivalent to the fostering national minimum allowance for each eligible child, to the work being done in the light of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. I thank colleagues for welcoming that work. I also want to use this opportunity to update colleagues on the parental leave and pay review, which sits in my Department and is cross-working with the Department for Work and Pensions. There are, rightly, lots of Departments involved with this, because it is not just one part of life that is impacted for kinship carers—it is across everything. We recognise that support for the carer and support for the child cannot be easily separated. Giving a carer the time and support needed to help a child settle may contribute to the stability of that arrangement. That is why it is right that we are considering the experiences of kinship families across departmental boundaries—social care, employment policy, education and the wider support available to families. We are committed to reviewing the wider system. Colleagues will know that the review was launched in July 2025, and that is why we are considering all the current parental leave and pay entitlements, as well as the experiences and needs of working families who do not qualify for existing leave and pay entitlements, including kinship carers. We are jointly leading the review and engaging with a broad range of stakeholders. Again, I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has fed into the review for their patience, as we are taking the time to go through as much evidence as possible, including roundtables and bilateral meetings, as well as meetings with me, other colleagues who are in the Chamber today and parental advocacy groups that represent kinship carers. The review will conclude in early 2027 with a set of findings that outline the next steps for implementing any reforms. I know there is significant interest in what the review will conclude.