The children’s social care system is leaving care-experienced young people dangerously unsupported as they enter adulthood, with urgent reforms needed to protect their rights and improve lifelong outcomes, a parliamentary committee has warned.
The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) said the system was at a ‘cliff edge’, with young people describing how support and important relationships can disappear when they leave care. It has called on the Government to allow support to continue beyond rigid age cut-offs where this would help young people transition successfully into adulthood.
The committee said additional support should focus on key areas including housing, health, education and employment. It also recommended expanding specialist Care Leaver Services, pointing to facilities such as The Archway Hub in Leeds, which brings together mentoring, training and leisure opportunities.
Around 400,000 children in England are currently involved with the social care system, including nearly 84,000 who are looked after by local authorities.
The report also raises concerns about the support available to children cared for by relatives. While the Government’s Kinship Allowance Pilot is described as a positive step, the committee said many families would remain without adequate support while the scheme is rolled out and assessed.
It has called for interim measures, including a standard financial allowance and access to parental leave, while a longer-term approach to supporting kinship carers is developed.
The committee also found that care for disabled children is inconsistent and difficult for families to navigate. It called for a single, comprehensive statutory guidance framework setting out the rights and responsibilities of disabled children, families and local authorities.
A lack of national eligibility criteria has created what the committee described as a “postcode lottery”, meaning children with similar needs can receive different levels of support depending on where they live. The JCHR said national criteria should be introduced to ensure equal access to care across the country.
The report also strongly criticised the children’s social care accommodation market, saying a lack of supply has resulted in children being placed in expensive and inadequate accommodation, sometimes far from their families and support networks.
The committee said the use of unregulated accommodation, including caravans and holiday rentals, must end urgently, describing such settings as unlawful, unsafe and expensive. It called for increased investment in local authority placements, tougher inspections and action to reduce delays in registering homes.
The report highlights wider human rights concerns, including the disproportionate criminalisation of care-experienced young people. They make up nearly half of the youth custody population and are 10 times more likely to receive an immediate custodial sentence, according to the committee.
The committee also expressed concern over the disappearance of more than 40 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children who disappeared from asylum hotels in 2023, with some still unaccounted for.
Although the use of asylum hotels to accommodate unaccompanied asylum-seeking children has now ended, the JCHR said concerns remain over the fate of those who went missing. It has called for quarterly updates from the Government on efforts to locate the children and establish what happened to them.
Chair of the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Lord David Alton said: ‘We have a moral duty as a society to uphold the human rights of children and young people. The children’s social care system is there to be a crucial safety net to support the most vulnerable in society.
‘The evidence we have heard from children in care, care leavers and experts in the field is that too often it is failing to prevent people falling through the gaps. The challenges for those in need of care do not stop when childhood ends – from the ‘cliff edge’ of support ending at the age of 18, to the increased likelihood of entering the criminal justice system to facing discrimination once they leave care.
‘These are issues that Government needs to do more to understand and take steps to address them.
‘The continued difficulties for disabled children and their families navigating a complex system are profoundly troubling and wholly unacceptable. They need to be resolved. Clear guidelines need to be in place so that everyone knows what they are entitled to and what their responsibilities are. Consistent standards need to be in place to end the postcode lottery of support.
‘The crisis in accommodation must also be dealt with once and for all. Local authorities with an urgent need to house vulnerable children should not be cash cows for accommodation providers.
‘Unlicensed and illegal homes are a licence to print money – costing the tax payer £353 million a year. The Government must work with local authorities to ensure the capacity is there for safe, secure and cost-effective spaces that meet local need.’
The full report can be read here.
Photo: cottonbro studio
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