Welsh care reforms place post-18 duty on councils

A statement issued by deputy minster for social services Gwenda Thomas on Friday, said amendments to the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Bill will place “a clear duty” on councils to determine whether a young person should stay in a foster placement beyond the age of 18 and “take steps to facilitate them”.

She added: “Where following dialogue with the young person the local authority determines that such a living arrangement would be appropriate for the young person and his or her foster parents with the arrangement to continue, the authority will be under a duty to provide advice and support, including financial support, to facilitate the arrangement.”

Thomas issued the statement in response to concerns raised by a group of 12 charities, including the Fostering Network, who claimed the bill and amendments did not place a statutory duty on local authorities to fund a foster care placement for a young person beyond 17 years old.

The charities said: “Experience shows we cannot rely on the voluntary, guidance-led approach to solve this problem. Legislation to allow young people to stay in foster care until at least 21 is required to make a real difference.”

But Thomas’s statement said the charities’ concerns were unfounded: “I would like to reassure children and young people and wider stakeholders that the provisions of the bill coupled with the amendments that have been tabled will require local authorities to provide such financial support to both the young person and the local authority foster parent.”

The law is currently being changed in England and Scotland to allow young people to stay with their foster carers until the age of 21. The Westminster government is also to investigate the potential for this “staying put” right to be extended to children living in care homes.

A debate on the bill and amendments is due to take place in the Welsh Assembly on Tuesday.