Children in Care

(asked on 15th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the upcoming ban on unregulated accommodation for children aged under 16, whether children in care who are settled in children’s homes will be required to move out before they formally leave care at 18.


Answered by
Vicky Ford Portrait
Vicky Ford
This question was answered on 18th March 2021

This government firmly believes that every child in the care system deserves to live in a high-quality setting that meets their needs and keeps them safe. Anything less is unacceptable. We are clear that independent and semi-independent provision can be the right option for some older children, but it must be of high quality, and the young person must be ready for the level of independence that it promotes. As more older children are entering the care system, it is important that we ensure that there is a high-quality option available to facilitate the development of their independence, as they prepare for adult life and for leaving care.

We are introducing national standards for independent and semi-independent settings for children in care and care leavers aged 16 and 17 to raise the bar for this provision. This will work towards ensuring that local authorities can be confident when making placements in this provision and will strengthen our ability to take action against poor providers and, most importantly, will ensure that our children and young people are safe and have the best possible chances of success in life.

These settings, however, cannot meet the needs of children under the age of 16. These children are too young to be placed in independent and semi-independent provision. They should be placed in foster care or children’s homes, and that is why we are banning the practice of placing children under 16 in unregulated settings from September.

The ban on placing children under 16 in unregulated settings is in no way intended to create a default position at which children are placed in semi-independent or independent provision on their 16th birthday, as many of these young people’s needs will be best met by a placement in foster carers or in children’s homes. Local authorities have statutory duties to meet the needs of the children whom they look after and they should continue to place young people in settings that best meet their needs.

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