1 Introduction
Context
1. Our inquiry into the child protection
system in England (2012) expressed concern about the level and
quality of support received by older young people in, or on the
edge of, the care system.[1]
Since the publication of our report, two particular issues have
heightened our concern: first, during our inquiry into residential
children's homes (2013)[2]
questions about the quality and suitability of accommodation provided
to looked after 16 and 17 year olds were brought to our attention.
Secondly, in December 2013 the Government's welcome announcement
of a new legal duty on local authorities to support Staying Put
arrangements for young people living in foster care[3]
was questioned on equity grounds, as it did not apply to young
people living in children's homes or 'other arrangements'. We
therefore decided to launch an inquiry into 16 plus care options.
Our inquiry
2. Our inquiry was launched on 22 January
2014, inviting written evidence on the following points:
- The kinds of accommodation that
are provided for young people aged 16 and 17 who are looked after
by local authorities.
- The suitability, safety and regulatory
nature of alternative accommodation provided for young people
who are aged 16 and 17 and looked after by local authorities.
- Whether the Government's announcement
to extend local authorities' duties to support young people wishing
to stay with foster carers until the age of 21 should apply to
those in residential children's homes.
- Whether provision of alternative
accommodation should be extended to the age of 21.
3. We received submissions from a wide
range of witnesses and took oral evidence on two occasions, hearing
from three panels of witnesses as listed at the end of this report.
At the outset of the inquiry we held an informal seminar with
care leavers, organised in collaboration with The Who Cares? Trust
and the Office of the Children's Commissioner. We visited Ipswich
in April 2014 to see examples of accommodation provided to looked
after 16 and 17 year olds and to meet local authority officers
as well as the Suffolk Children in Care Council. We are grateful
to all those who contributed to our inquiry through these various
routes and especially to the young people who spoke to us so honestly
and openly about their personal experiences.
4. During this inquiry we have benefited
from the expertise and assistance of our two standing special
advisers on children's services, Marion Davis CBE and Professor
David Berridge OBE.[4]
Defining the scope of the inquiry
5. Our inquiry focused on two groups
of looked after young people:
i) "Eligible" children,
who, as defined by the Children Act 1989 ('the 1989 Act'):
· are
looked after by a local authority;
· are
aged 16 or 17; and
· have
been looked after by a local authority for 13 weeks or more since
the age of 14.[5]
ii) Young people who become looked
after as a result of their being accommodated under section 20
of the 1989 Act, after presenting as being homeless, or at risk
of homelessness. This duty is often denoted by reference to the
Southwark Judgement.[6]
At 31 March 2013 there were 13,730 looked
after young people aged 16 and above, representing 20% of the
total population of looked after children.[7]
'Other arrangements'
6. According to Department for Education
(DfE) data (2013), at any one time looked after children aged
16 and 17 are mainly placed in four types of accommodation:
· Foster
care (51%)[8]
· Residential
care (22%)[9]
· 'Other
arrangements' (22%)[10]
· With
their parents (4%)[11]
The DfE outlined the kinds of placements
that fall within the catch-all term, 'other arrangements':
[12]
placements in a family or domestic
setting, where the adults responsible for their care and/or support
are not approved as foster carers (supported lodgings);
foyers [which offer "integrated
housing, learning, and personal development" services][13]
and other kinds of supported accommodation services;
placements in independent accommodation
with 'floating support', where housing support workers make regular
visits to accommodation to assist young people to develop the
skills needed to manage in their own tenancy in future; and
other unregulated settings that
provide support to the child.[14]
Local authorities' duties to looked
after young people aged 16 and above
7. The 1989 Act places a duty on local
authorities to provide eligible children with:
· All
the support that comes with being looked after.
· A
needs assessment, followed by preparation of a pathway plan, which
is to be kept under regular review. [15]
· A
Personal Adviser (PA).[16]
A homeless 16 or 17 year old who is
accommodated under section 20 of the 1989 Act becomes "looked
after" and children's services "will have a duty to
maintain them (including meeting the cost of accommodation)".[17]
8. Local authorities' duties change
when a young person turns 18. From the ages of 18 to 21 (or 25
if the young person is pursuing, or wishes to pursue, a programme
of education or training) formerly "eligible" or "relevant"
young people become legally defined as "former relevant".[18]
Statutory guidance, Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care
Leavers (hereafter 'Transition guidance'), outlines local
authorities' responsibilities in respect of former relevant young
people. Local authorities must continue to:
· provide
the young person with a PA (section 23C(3)(a) of the 1989 Act);
· review
and revise the pathway plan regularly (section 23C(3)(b)); and
· keep
in touch (section 23C(2)(a) and (b)).
Responsible authorities' duty to provide
accommodation and maintenance for care leavers ends when they
reach 18. However, they have duties to:
· provide
general assistance (section 23C(4)(c));
· provide
assistance with the expenses associated with employment (section
23C(4)(a));
· provide
assistance with the expenses associated with education and training
(section 23C(4)(b));
· provide
vacation accommodation (or the funds to secure it) to care leavers
in Higher Education, or in residential Further Education (section
24B(5)); and
· provide
a bursary (£2,000) to care leavers going on to Higher Education
(section 23C(5A)).[19]
9. The Children and Families Act 2014
places a new duty on local authorities to implement a "staying
put arrangement" for former relevant young people whose final
placement is in foster care. Staying Put enables and supports
a young person to continue living with their former foster parent
until they are 21 years old-if it is consistent with the young
person's welfare and if both the young person and foster parent
wish to continue with the arrangement.[20]
In these circumstances, local authorities have a duty to:
· Monitor
the staying put arrangement, and
· Provide
advice, assistance and support to the former relevant child and
the former foster parent with a view to maintaining the staying
put arrangement.[21]
The duty came into force in April 2014
and local authorities will receive £40 million over the next
three years to implement arrangements.[22]
10. We have addressed the issues affecting
care leavers aged 18 and above (defined as "former relevant"
young people) only so far as they arose through our consideration
of extending Staying Put.
1 Fourth Report from the Education Committee, Children
first: the child protection system in England, HC (2012-13) 137 Back
2
Sixth Report from the Education Committee, Residential Children's
Homes, HC (2013-14) 716 Back
3
Department for Education, Children to stay with foster families until 21,
December 2013 Back
4
Professor David Berridge OBE, Professor of Child and Family Welfare,
Centre for Family Policy and Child Welfare, University of Bristol,
declared interests in the form of research with the Department
for Education and as a member of the Corporate Parenting Panel
of Bristol City Council Children and Young People's Services.
Marion Davis CBE declared interests as an independent Chair of
Solihull LSCB; as an independent adviser to the Safeguarding Board
of Northern Ireland's Thematic Review of Child Sexual Exploitation;
as a Trustee of a charity, Children and Families Across Borders;
as an independent Chair of a Serious Case Review Panel into the
death of a child, on behalf of the Sutton LSCB; and as a member
of the Northamptonshire Improvement Board and mentor to the DCS. Back
5
The Children Act 1989, Section 19B; see also Department for Education,
The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 2: Care Planning, Placement and Case Review,
March 2010, para 1.24 Back
6
Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department for
Communities and Local Government, Provision of Accommodation for 16 and 17 year old young people who may be homeless and/or require accommodation,
April 2010 Back
7
Department for Education, Children looked after in England, including adoption,
National Tables A1, December 2013 Back
8
Department for Education (16P 29) para 23 Back
9
Department for Education (16P 29) para 24 Back
10
Department for Education (16P 29) para 26 Back
11
Department for Education (16P 29) para 31 Back
12
Throughout this report 'alternative accommodation' will be used
interchangeably with 'other arrangements'. Back
13
The Foyer Federation (16P 21) p 1 Back
14
Department for Education (16P 29) para 27 Back
15
The Children Act 1989, Schedule 2 Section 19B Back
16
The Children Act 1989, Section 23D Back
17
Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department for
Communities and Local Government, Provision of Accommodation for 16 and 17 year old young people who may be homeless and/or require accommodation,
April 2010, para 2.16 Back
18
The Children Act 1989, Section 23C Back
19
Department for Education, The Children Act 1989 Guidance and Regulations Volume 3: Planning Transition to Adulthood for Care Leavers,
October 2010, para 4.5 Back
20
The Children and Families Act 2014, Section 98 Back
21
The Children and Families Act 2014, Section 98(3) Back
22
Department for Education, Children to stay with foster families until 21,
December 2013 Back
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