My Lords, so far as concerns accessing information for looked-after children and care leavers, I share the convictions of the noble Baronesses, Lady Young, Lady Massey and Lady Jones, the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, the noble Lord, Lord Northbourne, and my noble friends Lady Hamwee and Lady Benjamin that all young people should be able to access their records. However, we believe that this is a matter of practice rather than legislation. As the Committee will hear, our regulations on this are clear.
Regulations require the local authority to open a case record in respect of each looked-after child. So, for example, a child seeking information referring to them that is held within a foster carer’s records could make a subject access request to see that information. Care leavers are entitled to access their records, regardless of whether they were in foster care or a children’s home.
Our transitions guidance states that local authorities must assure themselves that agencies which contribute to the young person’s pathway plan understand their responsibility to make arrangements for secure storage of documents containing personal information about care leavers. Local authorities have a duty to retain records for 75 years from the birth of a child. Under the Data Protection Act 1998, people who were looked
after have a right of access to personal information held by their responsible local authority, fostering service et cetera.
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The new Ofsted framework, which comes in from November, says that:
“Care leavers are provided with information … about their legal entitlements such as access to their records”,
and Ofsted will look at the quality of the records. We share noble Lords’ concerns that all young people should have access to their records but we do not consider further legislation as the most effective way to achieve this. I have asked my officials to meet the noble Baroness, Lady Young, and the Care Leavers’ Association to look at how we can improve current local authority practice in this area—including in relation to the state of the record-keeping, which the noble Baroness, Lady Howarth, and the noble Baroness herself referred to—and to report back to the Children’s Minister and me.
I turn to the amendment tabled by the noble Earl, Lord Listowel, on providing welfare support for care leavers. The Government are committed to ensuring that care leavers receive the best platform to make their way in life but we do not think that extending Section 23C of the Children Act is the way to improve existing practice. Statutory guidance on care leavers already sets a clear expectation that local authorities continue to stay in touch and support their care leavers until age 21, and beyond if they are in education or training. Local authorities should respond to requests by assessing the young person’s needs and preparing a pathway plan.
We intend to strengthen statutory guidance to make it absolutely clear that local authorities should ensure that all their care leavers—whether or not they have indicated a wish to return to education—are aware of their entitlement to a personal adviser up to age 25, if they wish to engage in education. That guidance will make it clear that even where a care leaver has problems that are a barrier to their currently returning to education, and which may mean that they will not be able to return to it for quite some time, they should still get the support they need to overcome these problems.
Several amendments have been put down by my noble friend Lady Stedman-Scott about the importance of care leavers having the ability to stay on in their placements until age 21, whether that is in residential care, in supported placements or with their former foster carers. I agree that this can be particularly important for those remaining in education. We want local authorities to provide all young people with a menu of options to choose from. The Minister for Children and Families wrote to all directors of children’s services last October, urging them to ensure that young people are always placed in safe and suitable accommodation that meets the individual needs of care leavers.
The Committee may be aware that the revised Ofsted inspection framework which comes into practice in November this year has a specific focus on the quality of leaving care services. This will include an assessment of their accommodation. Being able to stay in placements beyond 18 is mentioned within one of the grade
descriptions for the care leavers’ judgment. I am pleased to inform your Lordships that the department is also funding Catch22 to deliver a project on improving support to care leavers from children’s homes—