Children and Young Persons Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 48: 48: Clause 10, page 7, line 35, at end insert— ““(8C) Where a local authority has made other arrangements for the accommodation of a child, and these arrangements cease to have effect before the child attains the age of twenty-one, the local authority must carry out a review in accordance with regulations under section 26, and provide alternative arrangements for accommodation in order to safeguard the welfare of the child.”””” The noble Baroness said: In moving Amendment No. 48, I shall speak also to Amendment No. 55. A common theme of amendments to the Bill, particularly those that we shall come to later, is that young people leaving the care system are still insufficiently supported to enable them to make the transition to independent adult life. The Bill brings many improvements. Clause 10 provides that a local authority must undertake a statutory review of the child’s case if it is considering moving him from local authority foster care to accommodation of a type that involves making other arrangements, such as living independently in rented accommodation or a supported hostel or having residential employment. This probing amendment proposes that the local authority must also undertake a statutory review if the placement breaks down before the child reaches the age of 21 and that it must make alternative arrangements for the accommodation of that child if that is necessary in his best interests. Despite some improvements, far too many young people still leave care at too young an age and almost all will be living independently by the time they are 19, compared to 23 or 24 or even later for most young people who live with their families. The current care system does not allow for an interim status. Children are either in care or looked after or they are living independently and supported under the provisions of the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000. That contrasts with the experience of most young people, who do not leave home in a single act; the normal transition is graduated and is characterised by frequent returns to the family home and continuing support from parents and carers. Many young people will go away to college for a period and come back during the holidays—bringing their washing with them, which is only one of the continuing supports that those young people get. Research published by A National Voice in 2006 called There’s No Place Like Home surveyed 581 people, some of whom were care leavers and others were housing professionals. The key findings were that half the young people felt that they had no real choice in the accommodation offered to them on leaving care; 29 per cent did not feel safe in their accommodation; and about one-third felt that it did not meet their needs. I acknowledge that it is not feasible for local authorities to replicate exactly the experience of gradually leaving home that most families have. However, I believe that they could do more to ensure that children who leave care for independent living, particularly those who leave at a young age—before 18—do not drop into a spiral of moves of accommodation because of a single mistake or the failure of a particular placement. A requirement for the independent reviewing officer to undertake a review if an independent living placement breaks down would help in examining why the placement failed and in ensuring that any new accommodation was suitable and that the young person received the sort of support that he needed in order to minimise the risk of further breakdown. We do not want these young people to land up homeless, which happens far too often. Amendment No. 55 would insert a new clause entitled ““Preparation for ceasing to be looked after””. It is a probing amendment, which would extend the age of an eligible child under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000. The local authority is currently under a duty to advise, assist and befriend an eligible child with a view to promoting his welfare when it has ceased to look after him, but an eligible child is aged only 16 or 17 and has been looked after by the authority for a prescribed period of time. This amendment would ensure that a local authority provided this sort of support to the child right up to the age of 25. I must say that I find that my children still require that sort of support, and they are getting on for 40. We were briefed on this amendment by Barnardo’s, which feels that not only should young people be able to remain in care until they are 21, but that the age of eligibility for services under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 should be extended to 25. Young people should have the right to a personal adviser, a pathway plan and the same degree of care and protection as they would have if they were still in care or if they were at home with their own family. I beg to move.