Janet:

Leaving care, of course, is one of the most difficult times in a young person's life and some people—young people in particular—do not feel quite ready to manage on their own. In such circumstances, supported accommodation, such as community living schemes or supported housing, will be considered. I've been around some fantastic provision in Conwy County Borough Council. However, demand is outstripping the supply, and I've established, through chatting with elected members and also officers, that less then 50 per cent of individuals with learning difficulties or disabilities, in fact, are able to access such supported schemes in Conwy. And I'm also mindful of the actual cost associated with some of these schemes—they can be over £1,000 a month. What support are you giving to local authorities in order that they can at least try and meet some of the demand that actually seems to be increasing now on a week-by-week basis—the need for this kind of supported living scheme?

Minister for Housing and Local Government:

We have a range of measures, as I've just said in response to David Rees, and we're also looking at a suite of other measures across the Government. So, as I mentioned, we've got the joint housing and social services group, which is sitting under the homelessness action group and the ministerial group, to look at the range of options available for young people leaving or have left care, aged between 16 and 24 years old. It also looks at the ongoing support arrangements in place to help support young people transitioning to more independent living. And as Janet Finch-Saunders has just mentioned, there are a range of different provisions, from full care, really, in supported accommodation, to putting you into accommodation where you've got ordinary tenancy support, but not care arrangements. There's a very large range. If there's care being provided, that has to be in a registered address. So, it's very hard to have a general conversation about a very specific set of things.

We also, of course, have the When I Am Ready scheme that enables young people in foster care to continue with their foster carers until they turn 18, if that's what they and their foster carers want and it's in their best interests, or up until the age of 21, if they're completing an agreed programme of education or training.

So, if you've got anything specific in mind, I'm very happy to talk to you about those specifics, but, in general, we have a range of provision that is supported by our various grants. We've just added £1 million to the St David's Day scheme, for example, in order to support these kinds of schemes for young people leaving care.