Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that children in residential care are offered the same rights to stay put as children in foster care.

The government has provided £9.2 million over 4 years to pilot ‘Staying Close’ in 8 local areas, and to address the ‘cliff edge’ faced by young people leaving residential care. Staying Close provides an enhanced support package that is comparable to the option to Stay Put that exists for young people leaving foster care.

It includes an offer of move-on accommodation (close to their former children’s home), alongside a package of practical and emotional support (an average of 5-10 hours a week), provided by a member of staff from their former children’s home, who they know and trust.

An independent evaluation of the Staying Close pilots was published in November 2020 and reported that it is helping to provide young people with smoother transitions from residential care to adulthood, in particular:

• Young people have access to improved housing options, and reduced eviction rates
• The proportion of young people in education, employment or training has increased
• Young people have improved emotional health and well-being and relationship management skills

The government remains committed to rolling-out Staying Close nationally in the next multi-year Spending Review period.