Housing and Regeneration Bill

moved Amendment No. 20: 20: Clause 2, page 1, line 15, after ““well-being,”” insert— ““( ) to support local authorities in the development of sufficient, suitable housing for care leavers,”” The noble Earl said: The amendment places a duty on the new agency to promote good practice in terms of provision of appropriate accommodation for care leavers. The purpose of the amendment is to discover what steps Her Majesty's Government are taking to resolve the unacceptable patchiness of provision for care leavers, one of our most vulnerable groups of young people for whom we have the greatest responsibility. At Second Reading, the noble Lord, Lord Whitty, said: "““For the poorest, the future of social housing needs to be addressed in a more strategic and rather different way from the residual role that it has played in recent years””.—[Official Report, 28/4/08; col. 105.]" One can apply the same principle to that of young people in care. We simply have not had a strategy to meet their complex needs and they have suffered as a consequence. I pay tribute to this Government for seeking to produce a strategy in terms of education by giving young people in care first admission to schools and by giving local authorities targets to meet on the welfare of children in their care. We increasingly recognise that we—specifically, local authorities—have a corporate parenting responsibility. These children did not choose to be taken into care. The state decided that they must be taken in. We have very special responsibilities for these children. At this point, I am not asking for the agency to have responsibility, I am simply probing the Government to find out what their strategy is with regard to accommodation for young people leaving care. I wish to be reassured that there is a strategy going across health, education, local authorities and housing to meet the needs of these young people. Many of them need supported housing. How are we going to ensure that there is sufficient supported housing? Will the role of the independent reviewing officer be extended for him to monitor these young people for at least the first two years after they leave care? Perhaps the Minister can write to me on that. Are the Government looking at the regulations on supported accommodation and lodging for these young people? My experience is that there are many dedicated people who work to support these young people as they leave care, but who are often not sufficiently well qualified to do such a difficult job and are not adequately supported. There need to be sufficient foyers, hostels and supported lodgings. The lack of suitable supported accommodation is serious. A council leader conceded to me last week that although he could point to excellent new provision in his area, many other areas were lacking. Care leavers can still end up in bed and breakfast accommodation. The National Leaving Care Advisory service, based at the charity Rainer, has highlighted this as an issue of great concern. A National Voice, the care leavers’ charity has produced a report on accommodation, No Place Like Home, which highlights the many areas that need to be addressed. At a recent meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Children and Young People in Care, care leavers talked about their experiences. Two of them spoke of being placed in unsuitable accommodation and finding themselves with new friends who were using their homes to deal drugs. Speaking to foster carers last week, I heard about their anxiety about the accommodation that their young people were being obliged to move into. According to the Department for Children, Schools and Families, 25 per cent of young people leave care at just 16 years of age, while the average age for leaving home is 24. Many of these care leavers will need supported accommodation. Children are normally taken into care only when they are being harmed or are at serious risk of harm. Sixty per cent of those in care have had experience of abuse. While Her Majesty’s Government have taken commendable steps to improve the care experience, including significant additional financial investment and legislation, living in care can still often be unsatisfactory, and these young people are at their most vulnerable as they leave that care. For instance, a number of surveys have shown that upwards of 30 per cent of care leavers experience homelessness in the first year after leaving care. The noble Lord, Lord Brooke, may recall from his experience in terms of housing and homelessness in London that 12 per cent of homeless adults have experience of care. I am sure, therefore, that noble Lords agree that the figure of 30 per cent in the first year is unacceptable. It was very welcome to see the children’s Minister, Beverley Hughes, place such emphasis on improving the transition from care in the White Paper entitled Care Matters, which informed the Children and Young Persons Bill. However, failing to fill the current gaps in provision creates a lacuna in the Government’s plans for better outcomes for looked-after children. Policy needs to hang together, and partnership is needed. As I have said, I look forward to an assurance from the Minister that the necessary steps are being taken. We are soon to receive a Bill that will raise the school leaving age to 18. In principle, I welcome that, particularly from the point of view of these children. If correctly implemented, it may help some of them to stay away from the temptations of drugs, alcohol, crime and early pregnancy because they will be sufficiently occupied in their learning, but surely it is a nonsense to insist that a 17 year-old care leaver should remain in education or training but not provide him with appropriate accommodation. That sets the young person up to fail. I hope that the Minister can provide some comfort in this regard. I know that from her past experience and the charity she founded and directed, she will be sympathetic to the intentions behind this amendment, if not to the specifics. I look forward to her response and I beg to move.