Children in care not receiving support entitlements, MPs find

A report published today by the all-party parliamentary group for looked-after children and care leavers found that many children in care and those transitioning to independence are not receiving the support they are entitled to because councils are not paying it, professionals are ignorant of what is available or young people are simply unaware of their rights.

The group’s Entitlements Inquiry report has gathered evidence from 500 children and young people and 500 professionals working with looked-after children, including social workers, personal advisers and education practitioners.

The report found problems with the following entitlements:

•    Three quarters of looked-after children and care leavers do not think they have all the information they need about support from their corporate parent
•    More than a third of children in care do not know if they have a care plan
•    Only half of care leavers said they had a pathway plan, 12 per cent of whom were aware of the entitlement but were still not receiving it
•    Around a fifth of looked-after children said social workers did not visit them alone, meaning they are unable to raise concerns confidentially
•    Only 37 per cent of children in care knew about the £1,200 education support bursary for those aged 16 to 19
•    Only a quarter of care leavers said they received the maximum £2,000 setting-up home allowance from their local authority

The report says young people not being told about their rights and entitlements was a “running theme” through the evidence presented to the inquiry. The group of MPs heard evidence of councils deliberately withholding information or giving misinformation to young people, particularly care leavers, about support rights.

The report says: “Children and young people told us that they felt they weren’t told things on purpose to save money and were put off from doing things, such as pursuing education, by the local authority because of cost.

“We are concerned that financial considerations appear in some cases to be prioritised above the best interests of the child.”

It also found evidence that increasing workload pressures on social workers and personal advisers meant many were unable to spend enough time with young people to inform them about their entitlements, while others had not been able to access training to ensure their knowledge on what support is available was up to date.

Less than half of professionals said they had received training on looked-after children or care leavers in the past three years, and only 18 per cent thought they had all the information they needed on rights and entitlements.

The group’s chair, Craig Whittaker said: “Not enough children in care are being told about their legal entitlements, and the support they do receive is not consistent enough. At the same time, we found that professionals who work with looked-after children often feel they don’t know everything they need to in order to support them fully.

“We’ve put the voice of children and young care leavers at the heart of our report and, sadly, their experiences show that too often they are getting a raw deal.

“We want a care system where every child and young person know about, and receives without delay, the full range of support they are legally entitled to.”

Natasha Finlayson, chief executive of The Who Cares? Trust, said it is “absolutely crucial without exception” that all young people get the support they are entitled to.

“In too many cases, young people are being kept in the dark, completely unaware of the support they should be getting automatically.

“We have heard very troubling stories of young people giving up on their studies, even becoming homeless, because they were not aware of the support they should have received. This is absolutely unacceptable.”

The report recommends that care planning regulations should require social workers to share information about rights and entitlements regularly with young people, with independent reviewing officers assessing and reporting on the effectiveness of this.