New poll findings from YouGov commissioned by charities Grandparents Plus, the Family and Parenting Institute and Family Lives have revealed that 74% of adults in the North of England think grandparents and other relatives bringing up a child should receive practical help from their local council, and 63% think they should receive a financial allowance.
This rises to 75% of adults who think grandparents should get a financial allowance if they are on a low income. Around 76% think they should receive similar support to foster carers.
Charity Grandparents Plus is campaigning for better support for grandparents and other relatives bringing up children when parents cannot look after them, for example because a parent has died or is seriously ill, or because they are misusing drugs or alcohol.
Grandparents Plus own research shows that just 33% of family members who are bringing up a child because their parents can’t look after them get financial assistance from their council, and 68% of carers who asked their council for help still don’t get the support they need.
In the UK there are an estimated 200,000 kinship carers – grandparents and other family members -bringing up between 200,000 and 300,000 children because parents cannot look after them. Research shows that a high proportion experience poverty, isolation and lack of support.
