Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she plans to (a) continue and (b) expand the Staying Close programme.

This government is committed to providing support for care leavers to ensure they have the practical and emotional support they need as they move towards independence. The department is currently providing £23 million this financial year for 47 local authorities and three charities to deliver Staying Close. My right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has announced the overall settlement for the department for the 2025/26 financial year. The department is working internally to confirm the detail of 2025/26 budgets and future funding plans as soon as possible.

As announced in the Oral Statement in the House of Commons on 18 November, it is this government’s intention to make the Staying Close programme a national offer to all former relevant children up to the age of 25, when parliamentary time allows.

This will set the clear expectation that the local authority must assess whether provision of Staying Close support to the former relevant child is required, in the interests of that person’s welfare.