Regulation 7 Financial support — amount

(1)

In determining the amount of any financial support, the local authority must take account of—

(a)

the financial resources available to the special guardian or the prospective special guardian as the case may be;

(b)

the amount required by the person just mentioned in respect of his or her reasonable outgoings and commitments (excluding outgoings in respect of the relevant child);

(c)

the needs and resources of the relevant child;

(d)

necessary expenditure on legal costs (to include court fees) in respect of proceedings relating to an SGO or an application for financial provision to be made in relation to, or for the benefit of, the relevant child;

(e)

necessary expenditure in order to facilitate the relevant child having his or her home with a person falling within sub-paragraph (a) above, including any initial expenditure necessary for the purposes of accommodating the child, to include any necessary provision of furniture and domestic equipment, alterations to and adaptations of the home, provision of means of transport and of clothing, toys and other items necessary for the purposes of looking after the child;

(f)

necessary expenditure of the person falling within sub-paragraph (a) above associated with any special educational needs or special behavioural difficulties of the relevant child, including—

(i)

the costs of equipment required for the purposes of meeting any special educational needs of the child;

(ii)

the costs of rectifying any damage in the home in which the child lives, where such costs arise out of the special behavioural difficulties of the child;

(iii)

the costs of placing the child in a boarding school, where that placement is necessary to meet the special educational needs of the child; and

(iv)

any other costs of meeting any special needs of the child; and

(g)

expenditure on travel for the purposes of visits between a relevant child and his or her parent or related persons.

(2)

Financial support must not be paid to meet any needs in so far as those needs can reasonably be expected to be met by virtue of the payment of any benefit (including tax credit) or allowance.

(3)

Unless paragraph (4) applies, financial support must not include any element of remuneration for the care of a relevant child.

(4)

This paragraph applies where—

(a)

as a prospective special guardian, a person was also the foster parent of a relevant child;

(b)

the local authority consider that any fostering allowance paid to that person for fostering that child will cease upon the making of an SGO; and

(c)

before an SGO is made, the local authority decide to pay financial support and determine that it is to be paid periodically.