Special Guardianship Financial Support and Allowances
I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 regarding Special Guardianship Financial Support provided by Pembrokeshire County Council. Please could you provide the following information 1. Current rates and structure What are you current Special Guardianship allowance rates (please specify amounts and whether these are weekly or monthly)? Please also specify how they differ by age of the child. Are these rates directly linked to your fostering allowance rates? If so, please provide the equivalent fostering rates for comparison. 2. Actual payments in practice for all current Special Guardianship arrangements receiving financial support. What is the lowest weekly (or monthly) payment currently being made? What is the highest weekly (or monthly) payment currently being made? What is the average (mean) weekly (or monthly) payment currently being made? 3. Means Testing Are Special Guardianship allowances means tested as standard? If so please provide: A copy of the means test criteria or formula used Any income thresholds or tapering approach applied Are there any circumstances in which allowances are not means tested? If so, please specify. 4. Deductions What deductions are applied when calculating Special Guardianship allowances? (e.g. child benefit, universal credit, child tax credit, child maintenance) Are these deductions applied in all cases, or only following a financial assessment? 5. Maximum and exceptional payments Is it possible within your authority for a Special Guardianship allowance to: Match the full fostering allowance rate? Be paid without deductions If yes, under what circumstances has this been agreed in the past? 6. Duration and Review Are Special Guardianship allowances time-limited, or can they be paid until a child reaches 18 (or completes full-time education)? How frequently are payments reviewed? In the last 12 months, how many reviews have resulted in: An increase in payment? A decrease in payment? No change? 7. Legal Costs Does the authority provide financial support for: Legal costs associated with applying for a Special Guardianship Order Legal costs associated with defending or responding to applications to vary or discharge an SGO (including applications by birth parents) 8. Scale of Support How many Special Guardianship arrangements are currently supported financially by the authority? Of these, how many receive Payments equivalent to fostering allowance Payments reduced following means testing 9. Policy Please provide a copy of your current Special Guardianship financial support policy and any internal guidance used by staff. Please confirm whether this policy has changed since January 2019, and if so, provide details of those changes. If any of this information is already publicly available, please provide direct links.