Universal Credit (Standard Allowance Entitlement of Care Leavers) Bill [HL]

Earl of Effingham Excerpts

2nd reading
Friday 17th January 2025 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Effingham (Con)]

My Lords, let me thank the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester for successfully bringing the important issue of universal credit allowances for care leavers before your Lordships’ House. Children who are in care have had an extremely challenging start in life, and it is the responsibility of those who have been more fortunate to do everything we can to ease that transition for care leavers from care to living independent, enriching and successful lives.

For many individuals, universal credit plays a key role in their transition out of the care system. To that end, care leavers over the age of 18 are already able to claim benefits on the same basis as other adults of that age. Those who are 16 or 17 years old and leave care cannot generally claim benefits, as the local authority remains responsible for meeting their needs for maintenance, accommodation and support, unless they are responsible for a child or have a limited capability for work, but awards will not include an amount to cover rent.

There are other measures in place to support care leavers, such as staying-put arrangements, which help former foster children to continue living in their foster homes as boarders and lodgers. They may also be eligible to claim housing costs for setting up home allowance, which is a grant local authorities can give to care leavers to help them get their new homes up and running, as well as education bursaries for those completing in full-time and higher education. Some local authorities provide financial gifts and bill exemptions.

As I flagged earlier, doing everything that we can for care leavers should be the top priority—that is not in question—but there appear to already be a number of financial assistance provisions in place. It merits further discussion of whether additional monetary assistance by itself would achieve the goal that all noble Lords share of improving outcomes for care leavers.

It is not a surprising statistic, but it is none the less hugely regrettable that care leavers are more likely to be at risk of poor educational outcomes, unemployment, homelessness, drug and alcohol dependency, offending and mental health issues. These are the key issues that require a laser focus. If we are able to address them with a holistic approach, many other issues will disappear. We might consider improving mental health support for care leavers or working with charities to give children in care and care leavers positive role models to emulate.

Having a roof over your head is the foundation stone of a stable environment. Additional assistance in finding a home may be particularly beneficial. To that end, I ask the Minister to what extent the household support allowance is supporting care leavers. We would also be particularly keen to see more assistance given to care leavers in finding long-term stable employment, which would strengthen the aim to deliver on our commitment to helping them by providing a consistent and reliable income stream from which they could make plans for the future.

The noble Baroness, Lady Benjamin, very rightly mentioned qualifications. The noble Lord, Lord Watson of Invergowrie, mentioned training. What training are the Government providing to work coaches at jobcentres to give specialist employment support to care leavers? What steps is the department taking to recruit additional work coaches in order to specifically help care leavers? Would the Government consider committing to allowing care leavers to see the same work coach every time they engage with employment support services? Consistency of both approach and relationship can make a huge difference in the positive progress of an individual as they move forward on their journey into adult life.

There is also the question of regional disparity. The noble Baroness, Lady Bennett, mentioned different payouts from different councils. Is the Minister aware of outcomes for care leavers differing across regions? If that is the case, what action will the Government take to provide additional support to local authorities in regions, which could improve their outcomes?

Children in care and care leavers are some of the most vulnerable people in our society. It is our collective responsibility to do more to reduce this vulnerability. Additional financial assistance is one potential way of improving outcomes, as the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of Manchester is suggesting, but other measures may be necessary.

I turn now to the wording of the Bill and the fact that parliamentary oversight is essential. It is a concern for His Majesty’s Official Opposition that statutory instruments made under powers bestowed on the Secretary of State by the Bill will not automatically be scrutinised by this House. Given the likely potential cost of implementing the provisions in the Bill, an assessment must first be conducted to ascertain the cost to the taxpayer, particularly in light of the fact that there may well be more efficient and effective ways to deliver positive outcomes to support care leavers. It is indeed possible, as mentioned by many noble Lords, that there would be positive cost benefits, such as less homelessness and less dependence on local services, but until such an assessment has actually been made, we simply do not know.

In conclusion, there are measures in place to support care leavers as they take their first steps into the world, which we hope will lead to them becoming thriving, independent adults. However, as the right reverend prelate the Bishop of Manchester correctly identifies in this Bill, there is always more that can be done. We must consider all options, as a nuanced approach may prove more beneficial for care leavers, with things such as tailored work coaches, mental health support and mentors, to name but a few.

Please allow me to end by highlighting to all noble Lords that many children in care and care leavers deserve our support and protection from those who would do them harm. I am absolutely sure that every speaker in this debate wants that 100%. When later this year we see the results of the urgent national review, announced yesterday, into the scale of grooming gangs, we very much hope that positive action will be taken to stop this happening once and for all.