Report: Housing for young people leaving care

A report examined the housing needs and experiences of young people leaving care.

It said that: young people often felt unprepared for independent living; there was often a lack of choice of where to move to and minimal time given to prepare mentally and practically; the downward pressure on housing benefit, lack of appropriate housing, and the bedroom tax made finding accommodation difficult; and some young people ended up in poor quality or unsafe housing.

The report welcomed the Staying Put initiative, allowing young people to remain in foster care to age 21, but called on local authorities to extend their support for all care leavers to age 25.

It also recommended for local authorities to develop better emergency provision, so that they did not need to use bed and breakfast accommodation for care leavers whose accommodation had broken down.