support to young people leaving care to find suitable housing
To receive a verbal presentation.
Minutes:
The Committee received a presentation on duties relating to the housing of care leavers and the housing options available, including private sector rented and supported housing. The Committee requested a breakdown of information on the type of housing allocated to care leavers over the previous two year period.
In response to a question regarding the financial support provided to care leavers when moving into a permanent home, confirmation was provided that local authorities had a duty to provide funding to every looked after child for those purposes and Haringey provided £1.5K which was similar to other LAs
The Committee were advised of the significant impact of the recent Southwark court ruling, requiring all 16 and 17 year olds presenting to the Council as homeless to be considered as Looked After Children. Confirmation was provided that information was being gathered to assist in forecasting future demand and financial impact to monitor against statistical neighbour information. Improvements had been made to co-ordinated working between the Housing Service and Children’s Service teams including introduction of new protocols and a new dedicated Southwark team in place to manage the new demand.
One area of concern expressed by Members was how a realistic picture of housing provision in the borough, particularly the shortage of two bedroom properties, was conveyed to care leavers. Confirmation was provided that a multi-disciplinary approach was used to manage housing expectations e.g. through teenage pregnancy co-ordinators, and the feasibility of covering housing information in PSHE sessions in schools was being investigated.
The Committee requested that figures be provided at the next Committee meeting on the number of pregnancies amongst CiC population in the borough.