Care Experienced people are some of society's most vulnerable. One in five Care Leavers report feeling lonely always or most of the time[1], only 22% of Care Leavers aged twenty-seven are employed and those that are are paid an average of £6,000 less than non-Care Experienced people[2], 25% of prisoners were Care Experienced and 16% of this number reported having had more than six placements in Care[3], 45% of Looked After Children have a mental illness, Care Experienced people are four to five times more likely to attempt suicide into adulthood[4] and Care Experienced people are 360% more likely to die prematurely and more likely to die of unnatural causes such as violent deaths, suicide and accidents[5]. Care Experienced people are more likely to become homeless too; 25% of England’s homeless population are Care Experienced and a third of Care Leavers become homeless within the first two years of leaving Care[6]. The number of homeless Care Leavers has increased by 54% in the last five years[7]. Whilst Care Leavers experience more barriers to housing than non-Care Leavers, these issues are worsened by the UK’s housing and Cost of Living crisis.’ In 2021, only half of all young people had moved out by the age of twenty-four.[8]

 

Care Experienced people ought to be given social housing when leaving Care to reduce the chance of becoming homeless and set them up for a stable life, however, there are many barriers to this. One issue is Local Connection tests[9]. These are used by councils when people apply for social housing and when approaching the council for help with homelessness. Not all local housing authorities are required to have local connection tests, though the majority (89%) do. Local Connection tests also vary hugely; to join the social housing waiting list in Camden Council, you must have lived in the borough for five out of the past seven years[10], whilst in Cambridge City Council you must have been living in the city for six out of the past twelve months[11]. 

 

Care Experienced people face specific challenges with Local Connection tests. Looked After Children are commonly placed out of the area that takes them into Care and then brought back to that area when they become Care Leavers, often with further moves during this time. In England, one in five Looked After Children are moved over twenty miles away[12]. This means that a great deal of young Care Leavers won’t know the area they technically have a Local Connection to, and will face further disruption to their education, employment, social networks and sense of familiarity being moved back to the Local Authority they were originally taken into Care. One way to establish Local Connection is via family living in that area[13] but this disadvantages Care Experienced people who commonly won’t have a family or won’t have a positive relationship with their family. They may even be unsafe living in the same area as their family due to abuse.

 

The new Labour government has made steps in the right direction. At the 2024 Labour Party Conference, Sir Kier Starmer announced that Care Leavers, as well as veterans and victims of domestic abuse, would be exempt from Local Connection tests[14]. This will be amazing progress that saves many Care Leavers from homelessness once implemented. However, this only applies to Care Leavers up to the age of twenty-five, when the legal definition of Care Leaver ends. Care Experienced people of all ages continue to experience disadvantages associated with being Care Experienced. Being Care Experienced doesn’t end just because a person has reached a specific, arbitrary age. Care Experienced people also continue to carry other increased risks of homelessness, such as trauma and mental illness, lower earnings and other employment difficulties, experiences with the criminal justice system and having weaker or no safety net to fall back on. 

 

Further, social housing lists are incredibly long in most areas, meaning that even once someone has lived in the area long enough to meet the Local Connection test to join the waiting list, they likely won’t get social housing for years. During that time, Care Experienced people may risk needing to move due to rising rents in an area, but then being removed from the waiting list. Having this exception limited to those under twenty-five focuses a lot of important life decisions on young Care Leavers, such as attending university. 

 

Care Experienced people are among society’s most vulnerable, which continues throughout their lives. The risk of homelessness continues throughout a Care Experienced person’s life and, so it is vitally important for the new exemption for Care Leavers in Local Connection Tests to be for Care Experienced people of any age. 

 

[1] https://coramvoice.org.uk/latest/young-people-leaving-care-are-seven-times-more-likely-to-have-low-life-satisfaction-than-their-peers/

[2] https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1111/childrens-homes/news/171939/host-of-indefensible-system-failings-damaging-educational-and-employment-outcomes-for-children-in-care/

[3] https://homeforgood.org.uk/statistics/care-leavers

[4] https://www.barnardos.org.uk/sites/default/files/uploads/neglected-minds.pdf

[5] https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/The-lifelong-health-and-well-being-of-care-leavers.-Nuffield-Foundation-and-UCL-policy-briefing.-Oct-2021.pdf

[6] https://homeforgood.org.uk/statistics/care-leavers

[7]https://becomecharity.org.uk/content/uploads/2024/10/Homelessness-stats_Oct-24.pdf

[8]https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2024/04/12/our-changing-population-is-there-for-all-to-see/#:~:text=Young%20adults%20today%20are%20moving,people%20living%20apart%20before%20marriage.

[9]https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/applying-for-council-housing-or-a-housing-association-home/getting-a-council-home/

[10]https://www.camden.gov.uk/apply-council-housing

[11]https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/media/5403/local-connection-rules.pdf

[12] https://becomecharity.org.uk/gtf-petition/

[13]https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/52/section/199#:~:text=199%20Local%20connection.&text=(1)A%20person%20has%20a,because%20of%20family%20associations%2C%20or

[14] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-armed-forces-veterans-given-social-housing-exemption