Nusrat Ghani, MP for Sussex Weald, continues working with and supporting Hailsham resident and champion for local kinship carers Wendy Turner, and was pleased to join her at a recent parliamentary event to celebrate the progress of campaign for rights to paid employment leave for kinship carers.
A kinship carer is a family member or a close family friend who steps in to care for a child when their birth parents are unable to do so. Every year, thousands of relatives and friends step in as kinship carers to raise children who cannot live at home and would otherwise be referred to the care system. It is estimated that there over 141,000 children raised in kinship care in England and Wales, with over 160 in Sussex Weald.
Unlike adopters or foster carers, many kinship carers do not receive financial support or benefits such as paid employment leave to help the child settle in.
For a number of years, Nusrat has been working with Wendy, who is currently raising her grandchildren and spearheading support groups for kinship carers in Hailsham and Heathfield, on making representations to Ministers to secure more rights for kinship carers including paid employment leave. Nusrat made further representations to Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed to ensure that kinship carers are not forgotten and are included when decisions about rights to paid employment leave are being made.
Nusrat Ghani said: “I have regular catch ups with our kinship carers to discuss the support available locally and nationwide and what more can be done. It was great to catch up with Wendy again in Westminster and support the fantastic work she does to champion kinship carers. Becoming a kinship carer is a life-changing situation and can be a very isolating experience. I am immensely grateful for everything that Wendy and our kinship carers across Sussex Weald do to enable children to continue living safely within their family. I continue working with Wendy and making representations to Ministers on behalf of our local kinship carers, and I have met with the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed to highlight their work and stress the need to recognise the contribution kinship carers make and their inclusion in provision for paid employment leave.”
Picture copyright: Kinship Charity
