Earl of Listowel
Main Page: Earl of Listowel (Crossbench - Excepted Hereditary)Homelessness and Rough Sleeping
Earl of Listowel Excerpts
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, I do not have the exact percentage but I acknowledge that there must be, and will be, some ex-prisoners among the homeless and rough sleepers who may go back to prison. When they leave prison, their benefits are calculated in the normal way.
The Earl of Listowel
From the Cross-Benches, I ask how care-experience young people are represented in the rough sleepers’ figures. Will the Government consider bringing forward an amendment to the Children and Families Bill to place a duty on local authorities to enable young people leaving care to stay with their foster carers, where they choose to, to the age of 21, instead of being obliged to leave at 18, whether they like to or not, as is the current situation?
Baroness Hanham
My Lords, my understanding is that for children leaving care, local authorities are obliged to keep acting for them until they are 21 if they are homeless. So they are already being looked after. We recognise that a number of children under 21 leave care. The 15 to 18 year-olds, in particular, are well cared for but we know that we have problems with the 18 to 25 year-olds. I am advised that in the specific area of children leaving care, local authorities have responsibility for those until they are 21.