Support for care leavers

This briefing covers the UK Government’s policies to support care leavers in key areas. It primarily focuses on England but includes some information on devolved policies.

Support for younger children moving into and out of care, or leaving care through adoption or other routes, is not considered in detail in this briefing.

Who are care leavers?

Care leavers are young people aged over 16 leaving local authority care. According to the Department for Education, in 2023/24, there were 50,670 care leavers in England now aged 17 to 21, of which 65% were male.

The Department for Education’s 2016 ‘Keep on Caring’ policy paper said care leavers generally experience worse outcomes than their peers across a number of areas. The National Audit Office’s 2015 report on care leavers’ transition to adulthood identified poorer life outcomes for care leavers as a “longstanding problem” with a likely high public cost, including in mental health, employment, education, policing and justice services.

What is UK Government policy?

The Coalition government’s care leaver strategy, published in 2013, identified education, employment, financial support, health, housing, the justice system and ongoing support as areas where care leavers needed greater provision.

In October 2019, a ministerial Care Leaver Covenant Board was established to address barriers facing care leavers and to encourage joint working across the UK Government.

On 18 November 2024, the government published a policy paper, Keeping children safe, helping families thrive, which outlined legislative measures the government expected to take to reform children’s social care.

The measures outlined on the paper form part one of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which was introduced in December 2024 and is currently progressing through parliament. The bill would, among other things, put ‘Staying Close’ on a statutory footing and extend corporate parenting responsibilities to government departments and other relevant public bodies.

The Care Leaver Covenant

In October 2018, the UK Government launched the Care Leaver Covenant for England. This allows public, private and voluntary sector organisations to pledge support, through work experience, apprenticeships and free or discounted goods and services.

Independent review of children’s social care

Following a 2019 manifesto commitment, in January 2021 the then government launched an independent review of children’s social care. The final report of the independent review was published on 23 May 2022.

The report described the disadvantage faced by the care experienced community as “the civil rights issue of our time”. It recommended the government make care experience a protected characteristic in equalities legislation. It also recommended the corporate parenting responsibility that applies to local authorities should be extended to all public bodies for children in care and care experienced adults.

On 2 February 2023, as its response to the review, the government published an implementation strategy and consultation on children’s social care reform, Stable Homes, Built on Love. In the response to the consultation, the government set out additional funding and plans to expand existing programmes, such as the Staying Close programme.

What support is there for care leavers in England?

When a young person leaves care, a local authority must appoint a Personal Adviser (PA) to help them plan for their futures. PA support is available for all care leavers up to the age of 25. Additionally, the Children and Social Work Act 2017 states local authorities must publish a “local offer for care leavers”, which sets out their legal entitlements, as well as any discretionary support they provide.

Local authorities since 2014 have been required to provide financial support to enable young people in foster care to remain living with their former foster family to age 21 in a “Staying Put” arrangement.

Local authorities should also provide a bursary of up to £2,000 to care leavers who attend university. They must also provide financial support to help care leavers engage in education, employment and training; and a leaving care grant (£2,000) to help the young person furnish their first home.