Young People in Care

Alex Cunningham Excerpts

Tuesday 27th January 2015 Commons Chamber

[Alex Cunningham (Stockton North) (Lab)]

There could not be a more important subject for us to debate in relation to some of the most vulnerable young people in our society. Many will have found themselves homeless as a result of abuse, family breakdown, bereavement or other catastrophes in their lives, and, at a relatively young age, at the end of their childhood, they are cast into an adult world they are not necessarily prepared for.

The vast majority of professionals in local authorities do their best to meet the needs of this group of young people, but still far too many—some at just 16 years of age—are simply dumped somewhere, perhaps on a Friday night, and left to fend for themselves all weekend in a bed-and-breakfast establishment or unsuitable hostel because there is nowhere else for them to go. It is not good enough. I challenge Ministers, fellow Members, councillors and the professionals responsible for these young people to tell me whether they would be happy for their child, grandchild, niece or nephew to be treated as we treat many young people who need us to care for them—young people who feel abandoned and in great distress.

The presence in the Chamber of fellow members of the Select Committee on Education is testament to the importance of this subject, which was reflected in our report. The Committee identified a series of steps that we feel are needed to ensure that improvements occur, both in the preparation of young people as they move through to greater independence and in the stability and support available. As others have said, one of the core concerns, both of myself and other Committee members, relates specifically to the use of bed-and-breakfast accommodation for vulnerable young people at times of need. As the Chairman has said, statutory guidance makes it clear that care leavers should be placed only in suitable accommodation, meaning that it is safe, secure and located so as to allow them to take part in education, employment or training. However, the series of visits we undertook and the discussions we had with young people did little to confirm that that was happening universally and shone a light on the continued use of B and Bs for 16 and 17-year-olds, all too often for protracted periods—for instance, one person spoke of living in a B and B for two years. Little wonder that so many of them feel abandoned.

The hon. Member for Beverley and Holderness (Mr Stuart) talked about one young woman, and I am going to repeat the story, because what she told us that day in Ipswich really haunts me. When she spoke to members of the Committee, she told us about being placed in emergency accommodation—a B and B—for several weeks. It was a placement primarily for adults. She was the only young person, yet while taking refuge in the care of the state, she was subjected to older men braying on her door late at night and asking her to join them. That is not a situation I would wish on anybody, let alone a vulnerable young person. I hope that the young person hears that her story has been told at least twice tonight—who knows, maybe it will be told more times before this evening is over.

The statutory guidance that states that care leavers should be placed only in suitable accommodation also makes it clear that B and Bs are inappropriate for young people in care and should be used only in very particular circumstances. To be certain, those circumstances should amount to nothing short of an emergency situation; yet, troublingly, the use of B and Bs continues, with as many as 800 care leavers in England being placed in such accommodation in 2013-14 by their local authority. Far from being merely unsuitable, B and Bs often present an environment that feels unsafe and threatening to a young person. I would love to know how many of our directors of children’s services know for certain that the bed-and-breakfast establishments they use for 16 or 17-year-olds are as safe and secure as they would demand for a member of their own family.

Statistics from Barnardo’s, compiled following a series of freedom of information requests, reveal the extent to which many local authorities are failing to observe Government guidance to avoid the use of inappropriate emergency accommodation for young people leaving care. Despite guidance to the contrary, almost three quarters of local authorities in England continued to place care leavers in B and B accommodation during the last year, with 43% doing so repeatedly and an unacceptable 51% doing so for 28 days or more, despite B and Bs being described as emergency accommodation. We can and must work towards a future where their use is abolished altogether.

Accommodation of this sort, whether designed for short-term use or otherwise, fails to offer support to young people and does not allow them to move on and make progress with their lives. Worse still, placing vulnerable young people in such accommodation risks exposing them to a range of dangers and negative influences. I am clear that the use of B and Bs is avoidable, but if we are to achieve the right result for all our young people needing emergency care, more needs to be done, with authorities working co-operatively in their areas to ensure that suitable and safe accommodation is available. Government, too, have a role to play. As my hon. Friend the Member for Sefton Central (Bill Esterson) said, funding to local authorities has suffered huge cuts in recent years. I hope Ministers will look again at how they can guarantee every young care leaver a safe place to live when they need it.

The north-east highlights perfectly what can be achieved. Local authorities across the area have demonstrated that sensible policies in this area can produce positive results. Both Hartlepool council and Redcar and Cleveland council succeeded in placing 100% of care leavers aged 19 to 21 into suitable accommodation in 2014, while many other councils across the region achieved such outcomes in over 90% of cases. But there is still more to do, and we need to act to make sure that this progress is made sooner rather than later.

The local authority serving my own constituency, Stockton borough council, is a case in point. Last year, it achieved a success rate of 96% in placing leavers aged 19 to 21 into suitable accommodation, putting it in the top 10 of local authorities nationwide. That was not the case for a few, but that small number at least indicates that there were cases of genuine emergency. That said, I am pleased that those in charge of young people’s services are working alongside colleagues from housing to develop an initiative that will allow care leavers to be re-housed in close proximity to their former children’s homes—often on the same street, so that they can continue to benefit from the local support network that is available, preventing any sense of abandonment.

It is thinking like this that will see us making real improvements in this area. I remain in no doubt, and neither does our Select Committee, that bed-and-breakfast accommodation should be banned as soon as practically possible for young people, with proper inspection and regulatory oversight introduced to end the practice once and for all. I know it cannot be done overnight, but I would love the Minister to be bold and to fix a date for a ban to be introduced. Sadly, I already know that I will be disappointed, as the Minister has previously indicated that he has no intention of doing so.

I mentioned the effect of cuts and co-operative working, and emphasise that again. If we are to succeed in taking this step and bringing an end to a practice that so often puts young people at risk, national standards for proper emergency provisions need to be established, while local authorities need to have access to the necessary resources—whether it be through improved communication and working within local authorities, enhanced collaborative working between local authorities and organisations, or increased central funding. Indeed, we too often hear that local authority departments do not work closely enough together when providing accommodation options for vulnerable young people, and I am clear that that needs to be addressed.

Making the transition from care to independence is one of the most challenging periods for young people leaving care, especially for those who have had the most chaotic journeys through the care system. They need support and guidance in many aspects of their lives. It is therefore common sense that service providers communicate with each another, and it would be very interesting to see further consideration given to the sharing of budgets or joint commissioning of services in a similar way to that being examined in Stockton.

Often as a result of the lack of joined-up working, Barnardo’s has reported alarming findings, indicating that young people’s accommodation problems often get worse after their 18th birthday. In its “The cost of not caring” report, examples are given of councils placing care leavers in appropriate accommodation, fully funded by their children’s services, only for that to be withdrawn when they turn 18 and cease to be eligible for support.

Unprepared for the responsibility of paying their own rent and bills, and frequently lacking those all-important independent living skills, young people can find that their accommodation quickly becomes unaffordable as they no longer have the support they had previously relied on. Some on housing benefit find that they can no longer afford their rent, which children’s services departments had previously funded while they were still in care. That forces them into more affordable accommodation in alternative locations—invariably of lower quality. The new benefits regime introduced by the Government only adds to the challenges and misery these young people face.

All of that adds up to care leavers having an increased risk of homelessness, not only during the transition out of care, but over the longer term. Studies have highlighted worrying figures that over a fifth of homeless people have been in care as a child, while 16% of those facing additional complications on top of homelessness, such as mental health problems or substance issues, have previously been in local authority care and had, on average, left care aged just 17.

I often reflect on the fact that my two sons left home in their mid-20s after a life of support and stability, but that is seven or eight years older than the age at which we expect many young people leaving care to fend for themselves. They do not have the luxury of a family to fall back on. It is our responsibility as a nation to ensure that we do not abandon them. We hope to hear from the Minister how he is going to ensure that that is the case.

--- Later in debate ---

[Mr Timpson]

As is often the case, the strange dissection of responsibilities across Government means that ministerial responsibility for CAMHS resides elsewhere in the Department, but the Under-Secretary of State for Education, my hon. Friend the Member for East Surrey (Mr Gyimah) works directly with the Department of Health, through the taskforce, to look at what resources are required. In recent weeks, it has been announced that further money has been made available to improve the services that are available to children who have mental health problems.

Every party in the House recognises that the mental health services that are on offer to children, particularly those who are in care, on the edge of care or leaving care, are simply not good enough. That is why we need a fundamental review of how we commission, deliver and review the progress of children and young people who should have access to those services. We have made some significant changes to how we approach special educational needs—there is joint commissioning, and we are looking at a system that can be used from birth to 25—and we can learn a lot of lessons from that in how we deal with mental health services, particularly for children in care and care leavers.

As part of our commitment to improving services for care leavers, we have funded a number of projects designed to stimulate new and innovative approaches. For example, we have given funding to the Care Leavers Foundation to run the New Belongings project, in which care leavers play a central role by helping to identify barriers and find solutions to improve services in nine local authorities. I am pleased to tell the House that we will provide further funding to extend the New Belongings project. The second phase will be rolled out shortly and will involve embedding progress in those nine councils. It will also extend the project to more local authorities. We will also continue to fund the From Care2Work programme, which helps care leavers to get a foot in the door with some of our major employers, providing work experience, apprenticeships and employment opportunities. It is only right that we record the progress that has been made in recent years, but as the debate has shown, we clearly still have some way to go before every care leaver will be getting the support they need.

I turn to the specific issues that have been raised in the Education Committee report and by hon. Members today, beginning with the difficult but important issue of bed-and-breakfast accommodation. I agree with all Members, led by the Chair of the Education Committee, who have said that bed-and-breakfast accommodation is not suitable for care leavers. That is, of course, what the law says. However, as I said in our response to the Committee’s report, we do not think an outright ban is the right approach. We are not a lone voice—the chief social worker for children and families has said:

“A total ban on bed and breakfast restricts the ability of professionals to exercise their judgement in making best interest decisions about young people’s safety and welfare.”

The charity Catch22 has said:

“The reality is that there is a need for emergency, crash-pad accommodation for a very distressed young person who is in an urgent situation and needs accommodation. An outright ban could deny them access to much needed support in an emergency.”

That position is supported by the Association of Directors of Children’s Services and by the Local Government Association. The Care Leavers Foundation has said that it

“reluctantly concedes that permitting use of B&B in emergency situations is probably a necessary caveat, as there may be circumstances where in the absence of a B&B option a care leaver could potentially be at risk of street homelessness or being warehoused in a hostel.”

As I indicated to the Education Committee, in light of those concerns we want to test further the practical implications for local authorities if a total ban were introduced. We have started that process and are continuing to talk to relevant parties such as the independent reviewing officers group, Barnardo’s, Catch22, the Care Leavers Foundation, homelessness charities and others to better understand the issue. I know that the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) raised that point.

We know that there are some excellent examples, which hon. Members have noted today. The hon. Member for Stockton North (Alex Cunningham) mentioned Hartlepool and other parts of the north-east, and Wiltshire has also managed to find ways to provide suitable accommodation without needing to resort to bed and breakfast, so it can be done. I should add that the Department for Communities and Local Government has provided £1.9 million to support local authorities in developing sustainable solutions to stop the unlawful use of bed and breakfast for families and children. The seven funded councils have achieved and sustained a 96% reduction in the number of households with children in bed and breakfast for longer than six weeks.

[Alex Cunningham]

I do not want to tease the Minister, but if a large number of authorities across the country can achieve a 100% reduction, the best practice is out there and authorities know how it can be done. Is it not time just to say, “Do it”?

[Mr Timpson]

Of course we want every local authority to do it, and the more that we can help them achieve that the better, but we have to consider the practicalities of a ban, bearing in mind the mixed views about how it could be implemented and the emergency situations in which bed and breakfast might be required. We must also ensure that local authorities that are falling short understand how ending the use of bed and breakfast can be achieved, and that is one purpose of the innovation programme—to spread good practice so that places such as Wiltshire and Hartlepool do not hold a secret but can impart their knowledge successfully across the country.

I can confirm that, following the Committee’s report, we have further strengthened our statutory guidance to make it clear that for 16 and 17-year-olds emergency placements in B and B should be used only in exceptional circumstances and be limited to no more than two working days. I will write to all directors of children’s services shortly on a range of matters relating to children in care and care leavers, and I will bring to their attention in that correspondence the amended guidance on bed and breakfast. It may be a good opportunity to let them know about the good practice in other parts of the country.

On 31 March, we will receive data collected on the accommodation of 19, 20 and 21-year-olds and whether it was deemed suitable, including a breakdown on bed and breakfast. For the first time next year we will collect data on 17 and 18-year-olds too, and that will help us to establish the impact of the strengthened statutory guidance on bed and breakfast. I return to the arguments made by the chief social worker and the central premise that if we have a high-quality professional body making sound decisions and backed by tailored support, no care leaver need be put in unsuitable accommodation.

[Mr Timpson]

I anticipated that I might be asked that question and, in his usual manner, the Chairman of the Committee has established my exact thoughts. I am told that, for technical reasons, we cannot collect data until after the age of 16 as young people are still in care before that point, but we intend to refine the data when we receive them to establish whether any 16-year-olds are in bed and breakfast. The data are collected on the young person’s birthday as opposed to at financial year end. They cannot be collected on their 16th birthday so we have to wait until their 17th birthday. We will look at how we can retrospectively analyse the data and establish how many 16-year-olds have been in bed-and-breakfast accommodation during that year. If we can refine the data in the future, we will look to do so.

Several hon. Members raised the issue of alternative accommodation. It is right that all forms of alternative accommodation—bed and breakfast, supported lodgings, foyers and so on—should provide care leavers with a safe and secure place to live. Clear legal duties require that children are placed only in accommodation that meets their needs. Ofsted, through its new single inspection framework, monitors local authorities’ performance in supporting care leavers in the round, including the quality of accommodation provided. Care leavers have access to a personal adviser who can advocate on their behalf and challenge decisions by the local authority if, for example, they believe that the accommodation provided is unsuitable.

We are considering whether further external oversight is needed of the decisions that local authorities make. I am not persuaded, having listened carefully to hon. Members, that we need to establish a new inspection regime in order to achieve our aims, and others share that view. The chief social worker, Isabelle Trowler, has said that regulating all alternative accommodation would severely limit placement choice and the ability of professionals to use their discretion. Social workers should be visiting placements on a regular basis to ensure that the accommodation remains suitable for the individual. Most critically, we already have checks and balances in place.

As I have said, Ofsted inspects the quality of support provided to care leavers as part of the single inspection framework, and independent reviewing officers consider the decisions made about a child and would, of course, be expected to raise any concerns about unsuitable accommodation placements. We need to trust and support professionals to make sound judgments in the best interests of the child, rather than creating further bureaucratic processes. Local areas already have a clear duty to ensure that children are placed only in accommodation that meets their needs and, as mentioned, we already have checks and balances in the system to ensure that the best interests of the child are met.

[Alex Cunningham]

The Minister will recollect the story that the Chair and I shared about the young woman in extremely unsuitable accommodation. She was there for some time, with men braying at the door trying to gain entry. If the current inspection regime is not stopping that sort of thing, what will the Minister do to ensure that it does not happen again in future?

[Mr Timpson]

Clearly the situation that the hon. Gentleman describes is totally unacceptable, and we would not wish it on any young person. The statutory guidance makes it clear what checks local authorities have to make before they commission any alternative accommodation place.

The hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak (Steve McCabe) referred to the view of Catch22 that any universal approach to regulation on quality assurance would face considerable challenges. It may also stifle the creativity and support arrangements needed to allow young people to practise their independence skills. Ofsted was not convinced that stronger regulation of a complex and varied sector would address the uneven quality of care and support for young children. I take very seriously the point raised by the hon. Member for Stockport (Ann Coffey) about safety checks and ensuring that those charged with the care and protection of children and young children make every effort to place them where they are safe and secure. The DFE statutory guidance could not be clearer:

“Young people should only be placed in accommodation where they receive high quality support which meets the needs set out in their care plan. Where local authorities use unregulated supported accommodation for young people aged 16 and 17, they should ensure that all providers are vetted and approved to the standards they require.”

That is being achieved by local authorities such as Hertfordshire, which uses a clear framework of quality assurance to assess provision before placement.

I understand the desire of hon. Members to be confident that all possible avenues have been explored fully to help to improve placement decisions on alternative accommodation for care leavers, as well as the accountability and oversight surrounding those decisions. To that end, I intend to commission a piece of work in the Department to look carefully at other arrangements to establish in more detail the veracity and likely consequences of taking a different approach, as proposed by the Committee, together with other potential options.

“Staying Put” was mentioned by a number of hon. Members, particularly my hon. Friend the Member for Calder Valley (Craig Whittaker). The “Staying Put” duty, which we introduced last year, is giving more young people the opportunity to remain in a stable and secure family setting beyond the age of 18. The hon. Member for Birmingham, Selly Oak wanted to know how the implementation was going. I will happily write to him with the details, as time prevents me from going into detail at this stage.

Some Members would like to see the extension of the Staying Put principle to those in residential care settings. As they may be aware, we are continuing to work with the NCB, the Who Cares? Trust and others to explore how that might work, and providing funding from the innovation programme to test a model of “Staying Put” for those in residential care. That is with North Yorkshire county council, to the tune of £2 million, under its No Wrong Door project. That will work with about 700 young people and, importantly, ensure that if young care leavers up to the age of 21 need it, they will be able to use that intensive period of extra support through the hub linked to their independent living.

Early feedback from children in care suggests that, while the majority of young people in residential care would like to have some kind of “Staying Put” arrangement, a single model of “Staying Put” would not be suitable—a view I think endorsed by my hon. Friend the Member for East Worthing and Shoreham (Tim Loughton). I will of course consider carefully the scoping study and its recommendations. I have only just received that advice and cannot comment further at this stage. We commissioned that important work and I look forward to considering it in the next few weeks.

I am aware that my hon. Friend the Member for Beverley and Holderness will want to say a few words at the end of the debate, so in conclusion, I once again thank hon. Members for demonstrating that they, like me, care deeply about what happens to children who have been in the care of the state. It would be good if we could widen the field of Members at these debates beyond those present, so they too could demonstrate their commitment. The Government have worked hard to put children in care and care leavers at the heart of our efforts to improve the lives of some of the most disadvantaged and vulnerable in our society. We have taken a series of important steps to achieve just that, but I accept there is still more to do. I, and the Government, remain fully committed to giving children in and leaving care the support and future they deserve.