Petition · past parliament · Department for Work and Pensions
Give all Kinship Carers statutory parental leave.
Closed
72 signatures
What the petition asks
There are an estimated over 250,000 children in the UK living with friends and family (kinship Carers) as they can no longer live with their birth parents.
Kinship carers take on the role of parent at very short notice and are not entitled to any parental leave under the law.
Kinship carers take on the role of parent at very short notice and are not entitled to any parental leave under the law.
Give all kinship carers up to 52 weeks statutory ‘kinship leave’ when their children come into their care. 52 weeks would be in line with maternity and adoption leave, and allow kinship carers the to settle with the children they care for, who are some of the most vulnerable in our society, and have suffered, abuse, neglect, domestic violence or parental bereavement to end up in kinship care. Studies show children fair better in kinship care than in the care system, let’s make the system fairer.
Timeline
| 14 Apr 2021 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 14 Oct 2021 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
72
Status
Closed
Department
Department for Work and Pensions
Opened
14 Apr 2021
Closed
14 Oct 2021
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.