The High Income Child Benefit Charge
The High Income Child Benefit Charge provides for Child Benefit to be clawed back through the tax system from families where the highest earner has an income in excess of a set threshold, now set at £60,000.

An overview of kinship care in England, including the different types of kinship care arrangement, support available for kinship carers, issues, and Government policy.
Kinship carers in England (631 KB , PDF)
The government defines kinship care as “any situation in which a child is being raised in the care of a friend or family member who is not their parent.” There are several types of kinship care arrangement and the type of arrangement can affect the support available.
The 2021 Census estimated around 141,000 children were living in kinship care in England and Wales (1.1% of all children).
Several themes emerge from recent reports on kinship care, including:
In February 2023, the Conservative government published an implementation strategy and consultation on children’s social care reform in England, Stable Homes, Built on Love.
Proposals related to kinship care included (but were not limited to):
In December 2023 the government published its national kinship care strategy for England. The strategy committed £20 million in 2024/25 to improve the lives of children in kinship care. Its commitments included:
Since July 2024, the government has made several announcements completing impementation of commitments made by the previous government. This includes, for example, publishing updated statutory guidance on kinship care in October 2024.
In October 2024, the government announced it would provide £40 million to trial a new kinship allowance in up to 10 local authorities. The programme is planned to begin in 2025.
In November 2024, the government published a policy paper on children’s social care reform, Keeping children safe, helping families thrive. This included plans to legislate to:
These plans are being taken forward through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is scheduled to have its Commons Second Reading on 8 January 2025. The bill would also define kinship carers in law.
The main social security benefits which may be available to kinship carers are Child Benefit, Universal Credit, Child Tax Credit, and Guardian’s Allowance. Further information is provided in section two of the briefing.
Kinship carers in England (631 KB , PDF)
The High Income Child Benefit Charge provides for Child Benefit to be clawed back through the tax system from families where the highest earner has an income in excess of a set threshold, now set at £60,000.
Autistic people experience health inequalities. This briefing describes government and NHS policy on health and social care for autistic people.
The government’s child poverty strategy is due to be published in spring 2025. The latest data shows 31% of children were in relative poverty after housing costs in 2023/24.