Councils will only have enough funding to support one in five young people leaving care, town hall chiefs have warned today.
From 1 April 2018, councils will have a new duty to provide eligible care leavers with a personal adviser. However, the Local Government Association (LGA) said the Government was only providing enough funding to cover 20% of those leaving care.
The Government has allocated £12m for councils to cover the cost of providing personal advisers, but the LGA said at least double this amount of money could be needed.
The LGA added that the Government had also failed to provide councils with any extra funding to offer follow-up support for young people. This could include short-term financial assistance or requests for accommodation.
‘This is a potentially life-changing initiative that could make a real difference to young people’s lives,’ said cllr Richard Watts, chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board.
‘However we are disappointed that the Government will only provide funding for just 20% of eligible care leavers. While not every care leaver will need the support, we expect the number to be much higher than what the Government has anticipated.
‘This is further compounded by the fact that councils will receive no extra money to provide any of the essential follow-up support a young person might need, whether it’s travel or food or even a roof above their heads.’
