MPs back raising residential care leaving age to 21

A ComRes poll commissioned by the Children’s Services Development Group (CSDG) found that 47 per cent of 150 MPs questioned back the extension of the leaving age for residential care.

This compares with 15 per cent who were against the idea, with 36 per cent saying they don’t know, and two per cent not responding.

The findings, which were garnered from a cross-party selection of MPs, will be seen as a boost to campaigners who have been pushing for the leaving age for residential care to be raised in line with the extending leaving age for foster care, which was made law through the Children and Families Act 2014.

In January last year a scoping study ordered by the Department for Education, put together by the National Children's Bureau (NCB), The Who Cares? Trust, Barnardo's, Action for Children, Together Trust and Loughborough University, called for government to introduce a new system of wide-ranging support up to the age of 21 – estimating the cost to be around £76m a year.

Children’s services leaders have also backed the call, and on Friday, writing in a blog to mark her retirement, president of the Association of Directors of Children’s Services 2015/16 Alison O’Sullivan said she saw raising the leaving age of residential care as “unfinished business” from her time at the helm of the organisation.

“Many [young people in residential care] are not ready to leave care yet; they are playing catch-up with emotional development, delayed by their difficult childhoods,” she said.

“They are overcoming the legacy of abuse which has left them unable to trust people and to build relationships and many are still struggling with controlling their behaviour.

“My parting wish is that we see change soon and that we raise the bar to support all care leavers.”

In January, the man leading a government review into residential care, Sir Martin Narey, told MPs that the cost of raising the age that children can remain in children's homes from 18 to 21 could exceed £500m.

Appearing before the education select committee, which has previously recommended that the age for leaving residential care be raised to 21, Narey told MPs that such a move would cost a "huge sum of money" and he is keen to find "pragmatic and affordable" ways of improving the system.

The CSDG survey also reveals that 50 per cent of MPs agree that councils’ ability to deliver children’s services has been negatively impacted by budget cuts in the last five years. This compares with 24 per cent who disagree and 23 per cent who don’t know.

And 45 per cent of MPs said they are concerned about local authorities’ ability to provide children’s services given cuts to local government funding.

The survey also found that 70 per cent per cent of MPs agree that, in terms of fostering, residential care, or special educational needs placements, children should be placed with an independent provider rather than the local authority if the placement best suits the needs of the child.

CSDG chair Andrew Isaac said there should be a level playing field across children’s services provided by the public, voluntary and independent sectors for the benefit of young people.

“This should be achieved by ensuring commissioning is based on true performance indicators for cost, quality and outcomes,” he added.
 
“This kind of national outcomes framework will help ensure children are in the right placement first time, encourage placement stability and promote better outcomes for looked-after children whilst driving up standards through more competition.
 
“Today’s polling reveals there is support for such a system from the majority of MPs and CSDG is calling on the government to enact legislation to make this reality.”