Summary
• There are over 80,000 children in the care system and every year around 13,000 young people leave care. While around half of 24-year-olds still live with their parents, most young people leave care at the age of 18 or earlier.
• Outcomes for these young people are poor. Care leavers are less likely to gain good qualifications, nearly half of them have a mental health disorder and it is estimated that 25% of homeless people have been in care at some point in their lives.
• Many care leavers are living on a low income, often surviving on or near the poverty line. A report published in November 2023 found that 82% of care leavers said that they struggled to afford food some or all of the time, with 64% saying that their debt was increasing.
• Care leavers under the age of 25 who are claiming Universal Credit receive the same rate as their peers who are far more likely to be able to access support from their parents. This means that young people under 25 receive £81.77 less in Universal Credit per month compared to those over 25 – a 21% penalty.
• The Government has committed to improving support for care leavers and the recently published Children and Wellbeing Bill will provide important new entitlements to young care leavers – particularly when accessing accommodation.
This Bill would complement these proposals by providing increased financial support for care leavers currently living on the lowest incomes. It would mean that care leavers claiming Universal Credit would see their monthly payment increase to a total of £393.45.