The UK Government has been urged to extend statutory parental leave rights to kinship carers by a local MSP.

Natalie Don, who is also the Scottish Government’s Minister for Children, Young People and Keeping the Promise, has written to Westminster advocating for equal rights.

The latest statistics show there are currently 4249 children in Scotland who are formally categorised as being in kinship care, with an estimated additional 3000 children in kinship care who are supported by local authorities.

Current UK Government guidance makes these carers reliant on the "good will" of their employers to secure paid time off to care for these children.

Ms Don said: "It is very disappointing that family leave for kinship carers remains entirely dependent on the good will of the employer to ensure kinship carers, whose circumstances often change without notice, are given paid time off work to help the children they care for adjust to their new environment.

"I have been advised by kinship carers in Scotland that because there is no statutory leave, which is offered to other carers such as adoptive parents, some kinship carers have been forced to leave employment.

"Some, who were fortunate enough to own their homes, have also been forced to sell their house to make ends meet, forcing them into poverty. This is unacceptable."

She said this issue was highlighted in the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, which was published in May 2022.

The review, she added, recommended that kinship carers receive paid employment leave on a par with statutory adoption leave.

She said: “Kinship carers should not have to wait any longer as a result of delays from the UK Government, so I have requested an urgent update from the UK Government on the implementation of the recommendation regarding statutory leave in relation to kinship carers and have called on them to make these changes immediately.

“The Scottish Government wants to ensure kinship carers are not penalised for taking in their kin. Given the vital role they play in providing a loving, safe and stable home, I believe it is imperative that kinship carers are treated on an equal par with all parents eligible for parental leave.”