Goverment leadership ‘urgently required’ to support care leavers

Too many young people in care are not receiving the support they need when they leave to start life on their own, the Whitehall spending watchdog has warned.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said that while the Government had made a commitment to improve support for care leavers, the life outcomes for many of the young people involved had deteriorated over the past seven years.

It said that the number of care leavers in England who were not in education, employment and training (Neets) was running at its highest level for more than a decade.

At the same time, it found that two-thirds of the care leaver support services provided by local authorities were judged by inspectors to be inadequate or in need of improvement.

Efforts to improve the situation were being hampered by a lack of reliable data about how the lives of care leavers developed over time, it added.

The head of the NAO Amyas Morse said that ministers and local authorities needed to take urgent action to tackle the issue.

“Addressing the poor life outcomes of young people leaving care is a long-standing problem,” he said.

“The Government has made a commitment to improve the support for these young people but the outcomes for many have been deteriorating over the last seven years.

“Stronger central and local leadership is urgently required to get a grip on this problem.”

The report found that in 2013/14, 10,310 young people aged 16 and over left care in England – an increase of 50% since 2003/04.

Of those, a third were under 18 and many were highly vulnerable.

By age 19, 41% of care leavers were registered as Neets – more than double the 15% for all 19-year-olds and the highest rate since 2001/02.

Some 6% were in higher education compared to one-third of all 19-year-olds.

While local authorities had a duty to support care leavers until they reached the age of 21, the NAO said most council care leaver services were not up to scratch.

Of the 59 care leaver services reported on since Ofsted inspections began in 2013, 34% were rated “good” and one judged “outstanding”.

Spending on care leavers varied enormously from one authority to another – ranging from an estimated £300 to £20,000 – but the NAO said there appeared to be “minimal correlation” between the amount paid out and the quality of the service.

Some eight out of 151 local authorities claimed to know where all their care leavers were living and whether they were Neets, even though many of the young people concerned remained vulnerable.

While the launch of the Government’s cross-departmental care leaver strategy in 2013 had been a “positive step”, the NAO said it was not set up as an effective programme.

“There was no strong evidence of government working in an integrated way; limited implementation capability; no regular reporting of progress or outcomes, and no evidence of a sustained effort to continuously improve,” it said.

Meg Hillier, the chairman of the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said it appeared that some local authorities were “turning their back” on care leavers.

“Many young people in care have had difficult lives and face challenging social problems on leaving care.

“The least these young people should expect after receiving local authority care is to feel supported as they start living independently.

“As demand for care increases, it’s critical that the Department for Education and local authorities work to improve services for care leavers.”

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