‘Homes for heroes’ includes young care leavers
Yesterday Keir Starmer declared ‘change has begun’ in his first Labour conference speech. Care experts have started to believe him as he detailed plans to house young care leavers and introduce a duty of candour law.
The prime minister’s speech was delivered in Liverpool, which is where Labour’s Annual Conference has been taking place since Sunday. Although the address was heavy on rhetoric and light on policy – due to Britain’s current financial state – it seems Starmer hit a few nails on the head, including what he had to say about care leavers.
Starmer explained that for too long young care leavers have had to be dragged away from their local area to access support. Going forward, however, Starmer claimed care leavers will be ‘guaranteed roof over their head, meaning they will be exempt from local connection or residency tests which most councils have in place to determine who can qualify for social housing.
In addition, Keir Starmer also outlined plans to introduce a duty of candour law into parliament next April. This is a legal requirement for health and social care providers to be open with children and their families when something goes wrong with their care.
The news has been welcomed by many, including Become – the national charity for children in care and young care leavers.
‘Young people leaving care face a care cliff where important support and relationships disappear and they are expected to become independent overnight,’ Katherine Sacks-Jones, CEO of Become said. ‘It’s a scandal that an estimated one in three young people face homelessness within two years of leaving care. [The] announcement is a welcome step in addressing this and ensuring that young people leaving care have somewhere to live.’
Alongside care leavers, Starmer’s safe housing plans also apply to veterans and victims of domestic abuse. He described veterans as ‘people who were prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, who put their lives on the line to protect us all – but who will not have a safe place to sleep tonight.
‘We cannot stand by and let this happen anymore.’
On the topic of reform, health and social care secretary Wes Streeting took to the stands at the conference today and unveiled plans to help get the NHS and care sector back on their feet.
Dr Jennifer Dixon, chief executive of the Health Foundation, expressed enthusiasm that work was being done, but claimed plans need to be more detailed.
‘Wes Streeting is right to focus on the scale of the challenge in getting the NHS back on its feet and highlight the need for reform,’ Dixon said. ‘But this must be accompanied by investment and a credible, ambitious strategy for reform that commands support.’
She added: ‘As Lord Darzi’s recent report made clear, increased capital spending is essential to fix the foundations by improving NHS buildings, replacing outdated equipment and making better use of technology. With this in mind, hints from the Chancellor on Monday that current fiscal rules could be changed to allow more capital investment may be the most significant news of the week.
‘We welcome the Health and Social Care Secretary prioritising improving people’s health in order to get them back into work. While targeted support to bring down waiting lists for routine hospital care in disadvantaged areas is a positive first step, wider action will be needed as waits are unacceptably long in every part of England. This of course needs to go hand in hand with wider and targeted policy efforts to reduce economic inactivity in these areas.
‘While it is encouraging to hear the need for a fair pay agreement for social care staff, the absence of a wider plan for reforming social care funding and entitlements remains a significant gap in government policy. After signals in the summer about setting up a Royal Commission, progress on this was notable by its absence from this week’s conference.
‘Health needs to be at the heart of all government decision making to prevent people getting ill in the first place. It is vital that the government’s health mission focuses on addressing the wider determinants of people’s health – such as incomes, housing and employment as well as addressing the challenges facing the NHS.’
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