Private Fostering Arrangement and UC Child Element

I am advising a young single Mum who has also taken on the care of the 13 year old daughter of her friend as the daughter and Mum relationship had broken down and the 13 year old was getting into trouble and Social Services were getting involved. The 13 year old was taken in by my client back in August 2022 and she is still with her; all her clothes are at my client’s home she is registered as living there also for the school , my client feeds and clothes her and takes her to any GP and Chams appointments and attends Case Conferences. The Local Authority are at pains to stress to me that it is a Private Fostering Arrangement between my client and the birth mum and so will NOT provide funding - however if the daughter were to go back to her mum they state a child protection case will be triggered.  My client receives no child benefit or child element in UC but has recently began receiving £40 per week from the MUM. My client is struggling to afford costs - but is committed to supporting the now 14 year old. Social Services have advised her to make a claim for UC and CHB. Client has put in a claim for UC CE but UC are insisting on Birth Cert/CHB award letter/adoption cert none of which she has.

The relationship between my client and the 14 year old’s Mum has cooled and my client does not feel she can discuss money with her. Are UC right to insist that: “One of the following:•Full Birth Certificate •Medical Card •Adoption certificate •Passport •Child benefit award letter” MUST be provided? How can we prove that my client has the main responsibility for the child and and provides them with support and a home.

Could the Social Worker write a letter as verification of the arrangement?

Yes I have asked the Social Worker to do this. Just wondering if there is any case law regarding this situation?
Kind regards

There’s not any reason why ChB and UC CE couldn’t be awarded in this case. The first question of entitlement is simply that the child normally lives with the claimant. It’s a question of fact and the legal specifics of the matter aren’t determinative of anything.

It tends to be easier to resolve these issues with ChB as they have the infrastructure to deal with rival claims. UC are then able to just follow the ChB decision.

As to UC’s insistence that certain documents ‘must’ be provided, no they can’t insist on that. As with any decision making question, its a case of looking at the material which is available and making a decision on the balance of probabilities.

The path of least resistance might be to make a rival claim for ChB and go back and ask for the relevant UC decisions to be revised once that is resolved.