Commons Sense

House of Commons · Adjournment Debate

Care Leavers 2025-11-03

03 November 2025 · 12 other contributors

Opened by Sally Jameson Lab/Co-op Doncaster Central

HousingBenefits & WelfareChildren & Families

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Sally Jameson raised concerns about care leavers 2025-11-03 in the House of Commons. A government minister responded. Other MPs also contributed.

Key points

  • Today marks the first sitting day of National Care Leavers Month
  • Many care leavers face a significant drop in support services after age 18
  • The government commits to working with Members to improve outcomes for care leavers

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Sally Jameson Lab/Co-op Doncaster Central

Today marks the first sitting day of National Care Leavers Month, and I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss challenges faced by young people leaving children's social care. The theme is 'Rising as Me: Overcoming challenges, transforming, and finding your identity.' These ages are formative yet many face a cliff edge in support services post-18. While acknowledging some government initiatives like the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, I highlight that local authority care offers vary widely. Care leavers often lack family financial advice, moving frequently, and may lose out on housing support. Period poverty is another overlooked issue. Many face substandard accommodation and homelessness threats. The Government should prioritise setting up home allowances for care leavers, improve access to housing, reform universal credit, provide free bus travel, and include free prescriptions.

Other contributors (12)
  • Helen Hayes Lab Dulwich and West Norwood

    Care leavers need support; we should iron out differences in support across the country for a national offer.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Care leavers often lack financial advice and instruction, which is imperative to teach them self-reliance and financial management skills.

  • Warinder Juss Lab Wolverhampton West

    Recognising care experience as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 might be appropriate to tackle inequality faced by care-experienced individuals.

  • Matt Turmaine Lab Watford

    Harmonious working between services is crucial for properly supporting care leavers into adulthood.

  • Leigh Ingham Lab Stafford

    Access to period products can be an issue, especially post-education, making it important to move away from a postcode lottery and ensure wraparound care for all care leavers.

  • Darren Paffey Lab Southampton Itchen

    Supported lodgings are another family-based option worth Government attention as they provide practical help and relational support to care leavers.

  • Lee Pitcher Lab Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme

    I agree that the Government should treat supported lodgings as part of the core offer for care leavers.

  • Adam Jogee Lab Newcastle-under-Lyme

    We need to do more through financial support and directing care leavers towards work that suits their needs and skillsets.

  • Rachael Maskell Ind York Central

    Councils should co-produce services with care leavers to give them the confidence, experience, and ability to direct their future.

  • Jonathan Brash Lab Hartlepool

    My hon. Friend has outlined the vast range of steps that the Government have taken in short order to fix a very broken care system, but these things take time, and local authorities are under unimaginable pressure—they are at breaking point in many cases.

  • Gareth Snell Lab/Co-op Stoke-on-Trent Central

    What is available to local authorities with acute demand that are in distress, so that as a vast number of young people leave care and go forward in life, we are able to put social support around them?

  • Tom Morrison LD Cheadle

    One of my constituents came to my surgery to talk about her experience of being a care leaver. We discussed making care-experienced children a protected characteristic, and the discrimination that she felt in the education system.

Government Response

Government Minister

I thank Sally Jameson for securing this debate at the start of Care Leavers Month. The disadvantage faced by the care-experienced community is one of the greatest social justice issues of our time, and ensuring that those who grow up in the care system have a shot at a good life is a collective obligation. I agree that supported lodgings are underused and will work with Members to improve outcomes for this group. On calls for a national approach to care leavers in custody, my colleagues in the Ministry of Justice are looking into it and will give an update by the end of 2025. We need to ensure lifelong, loving relationships as part of the care system and confront the high number of early deaths among care-experienced people. The Minister acknowledged the extensive range of measures taken by the Government to address issues within children’s social care, including removing the local area connection test in social housing allocations for care leavers. The minister highlighted that corporate parenting duties have been expanded to public bodies such as the NHS and outlined commitments to expand Staying Close initiatives and disapply the intentionally homeless test for eligible care leavers. Automatic eligibility for high-level maintenance support at university was also mentioned. Furthermore, the Government pledged to reset how fostering is approached in England by doubling down on the Families First programme and supporting recruitment and retention of foster carers. The Minister expressed his commitment to ensure local authorities receive backing from the Government to make necessary changes and stated that additional spending will be provided for local authorities under pressure.

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