Grandmother to receive £20k from county council over care for grandson

A grandmother has secured £20,000 from Northamptonshire County Council following a three-year legal case over payments to help her care for her grandson.

The 57-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had her three-year-old grandson placed with her in August 2011 by the council, after her daughter was admitted to hospital due to a violent relationship.

Law firm Ridley & Hall said that professionals involved in the case admitted the child should be classed as ‘looked after’ and the grandmother provided with financial support, but she received none.

Helen Jarvis, a paralegal specialist at the law firm's Grandparents’ Legal Centre, said: “I was shocked at the position my client was in.

“The local authority was clearly sidestepping its duties towards my client and her grandson which resulted in my client being in a dire financial situation. This is completely unacceptable. “

Ms Jarvis said the woman should have received £139.79 per week in fostering allowances and had missed opportunities to be assessed other potential allowances.

“Had my client not been willing to suffer such financial hardship in order to care for her grandson, it would have cost the local authority substantially more if he had been placed with professional foster carers,” Ms Jarvis said.

A Northamptonshire spokesperson said: “We are unable to comment on specific cases. However we are committed to ensuring that foster carers have the support they need in order to provide the best possible care.”