Financial Arrangements for Care Leavers
To maximise the potential of young people leaving care in Bury to become adult citizens with the best quality of life possible.
Bury Children's Services knows that each young person leaving care has tremendous potential. We also recognise that they may experience different forms of disadvantage - not least the fact that care leavers in general have often been expected to take on adult responsibilities much earlier than their peers.
Bury is committed to providing financial and practical support to enable our young people to tackle the challenges they might face and obtain the best start in life possible. Our approach is based on high aspirations and enabling young people to take on increasing (and appropriate) levels of responsibility. The policy sets out the financial arrangements put in place to support them as they make the journey into adulthood.
Finances available should be adequate to meet young people's needs and to enable them to actively participate in society.
Young people should be enabled to take increasing levels of financial responsibility in the context of ongoing assessment and support. Practices should actively discourage the creation of a culture of dependency.
Whilst maximising independence the department also has a responsibility as a corporate parent to ensure the monies are used appropriately and are spent on the items they are provided for. Payment may therefore be made in a variety of ways according to individual need.
Written guidance and support from a Personal Adviser will be available to young people to enable them to understand the financial support available. Procedures will also be kept as simple as possible.
The amounts available to young people will be reviewed each April and will take into account changing needs and circumstances.
All young people will have the right to challenge financial decisions they are unhappy with through the complaints procedure.
The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 created three categories of Looked After young people and "care leavers" who are entitled to support after their 16th birthday. It is important to establish initially which of these a young person falls into as the first stage of assessing their eligibility for financial assistance. The guiding principle within these definitions is to identify those young people for whom the Local Authority should act in the place of a parent and to define the level of support to which they are entitled.
| Status | Definition |
|---|---|
| Eligible | This category defines those young people who will go on to become "care-leavers" when they cease to be Looked After. Aged 16 or 17 and currently Looked After, either on a care order or accommodated. To be "Eligible", the young person must have been Looked After for a period or periods totalling at least 13 weeks since their 14th birthday (this total should include at least one spell of over 4 weeks, but does not include respite care). A child is also "Eligible" if they have been Looked After on their 16th birthday either in hospital, remand centre, young offenders' institution or secure training centre. There is a duty to financially support these young people up to the age of 18. Also included are unaccompanied Asylum seeking young people who are living independently and are under 18. |
| Relevant | This category defines young people who are "care-leavers" but who are not yet 18. Aged 16 or 17 and have left care, having previously been in the category of "Eligible". If a person leaves care and returns home for a period of 6 months or more to be cared for by anybody with parental responsibility for them, they cease to be a "Relevant Child". There is a duty to financially support these young people up to the age of 18. |
| Former Relevant | This category defines young people who are "care-leavers" and who are over 18. Aged 18 - 21 (or 25 if in full-time further or higher education or for whom there is a plan to return to education), and have left care having been previously either "Eligible", "Relevant" or both. There is a duty to consider the need to financially support these young people. |
Where young people are only Looked After or supported briefly, however, or where they return successfully to their families, it is expected that the families themselves resume responsibility for their welfare and support. This is in line with the Children and Young persons Act 2008 and the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000.
It is vital that case records are kept accurately and referred to when defining a young person's status, especially where individuals have complex care histories involving periods spent back at home.
Eligible young people who are accommodated by the local authority i.e. in children's homes, foster care, or out of area placements are not covered in this document.
Eligible young people who have left local authority accommodation (i.e. those on care orders) and Relevant young people.
Former Relevant young people (with the exception of asylum seeking young people who have exhausted all appeals and attain 'end of line' status are not eligible for public funding).
Relevant or Former Relevant young people should have their financial needs assessed and included in their Pathway Plans.
Relevant young people (16/17 year-olds), in many cases, will not be entitled to claim the major means-tested benefits Income Support, Job Seekers Allowance and Housing Benefit. Responsibility for this financial support now lies with Children's Services (Social Care Division). There are important exceptions to this rule including lone parents, people with long term health problems, and people with disabilities, although they will still be excluded from Housing Benefit.
The benefit entitlements of Former Relevant (over 18) young people remain unaltered, as do individuals' rights to claim non-means-tested benefits such as Disability Living Allowance and Incapability Benefit. Personal Advisers are expected to maximise take up of benefits before making assessments for Social Services financial support.
It is the duty of Children's Services to ensure that the income maintenance and accommodation costs of relevant young people are adequately covered in line with this guidance. The department can also assist Former Relevant young people with accommodation where it is deemed appropriate i.e. those in higher education, to do so in the Pathway Plan.
Other areas where financial support can be offered via the Pathway Plan include:
- Travel cost for e.g. education;
- Special needs e.g. Education, Cultural, Counselling, Preparation for interviews, emergency payments;
- Contact with family or other significant relationships.
Other monies the Young people can access:
- Incentive payments for participating in EET;
- Birthday allowance based on age and EET status;
- Christmas/religious festival allowance based on age and EET status;
- Setting up home allowance based on a needs led assessment.
Accommodation Costs
Relevant young people are those 16/17 year-olds no longer Looked After, but who cannot claim Housing Benefit for their accommodation. These young people's needs for housing - with or without support on site - should be detailed in their Pathway Plan. Suitable accommodation should be commissioned for them on a Best Value basis, bearing in mind the level of support required and the cost of accommodation.
Former Relevant young people are those between age 18 and 21 (25 if in full time further or higher education). Their housing costs will be met in the following ways:
- Young people aged 18 in FE/training/unemployed and actively seeking work/sick/disabled on low incomes are entitled to claim Housing Benefit;
- Aged 19+ in FE they are not entitled to claim Housing Benefit and would need assistance with accommodation costs either from Children's Services or FE Access Funds;
- Aged 18+ in HE they are entitled to claim all Education Grants plus extra funding due to their status;
- Aged 19+ in Training/unemployed and actively seeking work/sick/disabled or on low incomes are entitled to claim Housing Benefit;
- Young people in supported accommodation, who lose out by gaining employment and losing Housing Benefit will be assisted so that they do not pay a greater contribution towards their accommodation;
- Young People in HE will be eligible for vacation accommodation.
Pathway Plans will include arrangements for how the accommodation is to be afforded once the young person reaches 18. This may include arranging for a Pre-tenancy Determination of future Housing Benefit entitlement, or commitment to top-up etc.
Income Maintenance Costs
Relevant young people will not be able to claim Income Support or Job Seekers Allowance. Payments will be made by the Extra Mile. Exceptions to this include lone parents and people with disabilities. "Relevant" young people can also claim non-means-tested benefits such as DLA. Personal Advisers will check eligibility for these benefits and actively help with claiming them.
Former Relevant young people will be assisted to claim benefit, although the Department will consider offering financial support if the claim is proving difficult.
For young people attending University - accommodation costs, travel allowance for return visits home and additional living allowance payments to top up daily living costs will be considered.
Where possible, young people's income maintenance will be paid direct into a bank account. If a young person does not have their own account, they should be assisted to open one.
In exceptional circumstances where a young person is assessed as not being able to maintain a bank account, direct payments can be made on an agreed basis.
This method of payment and reason for this decision should be specified in the Pathway plan.
The 2008 Act amended Section 23C of the 1989 Act to introduce a requirement for local authorities to pay a Higher Education Bursary to former relevant children who pursue a Higher Education course in accordance with their Pathway Plan. The new duty is in addition to their duty to provide assistance for education and training under Section 23C (4) of the 1989 Act. The Children Act 1989 (Higher Education Bursary) (England) Regulations 2009 deal with the payment arrangements which local authorities need to put in place to former relevant children who pursue such a course of higher education. The regulations set the amount of the one-off higher education bursary at £2,000. They prescribe the meaning of higher education for the purpose of determining eligibility for the bursary and set out the broad framework for arrangements in relation to the timing of payments and the circumstances in which payments may be withheld or recovered by a local authority.
The required payment of £2,000 is included in the payments to young people for their accommodation and living costs.
The Pathway Plan and Career Action Plan will set out plans for Higher Education in consultation with the Personal Adviser. A good deal of planning is needed between the young person, the Personal Adviser and other educational advisors to ensure the best possible choices are available to the young person. This career planning support should help young people recognise the relevance of their studies to their future career and life chances and should encourage young people to reflect regularly on their skills, strengths and aspirations.
Term-time Accommodation
The Bury Local Authority will pay up to a maximum of £4,000 (unless there are exceptional circumstances) to cover term time. This is usually 38 weeks.
Holiday Accommodation
If a young person needs Holiday Accommodation the amount available will be up to a maximum of £1,960. Arrangements will be sought for young people to return to former foster placements where this is possible (see "Staying Put" policy).
Additional Living Costs
An additional £30 per week will be available for general living costs up to £1,560 per annum. However, this may not be available to young people who are receiving a Bursary, i.e. NHS Bursary.
Duration of Funding
Young people will be supported for up to four years if a foundation year is required for a chosen degree or the degree is a specific vocational course. No course fees will be funded.
It is expected that the young person will discuss transferring courses with their tutor and Personal Adviser within a reasonable time to ensure the continuation of study.
Young People will be expected to discuss with their tutor and Personal Adviser any difficulties they are having with attendance and/or coursework. This is to ensure that extra support may be sought.
Whilst The Extra Mile will deal directly with the Halls of Residence or landlord to pay a young person's rent, it is the responsibility of the young person to ensure that they take care of the property and eventually secure the return of the deposit.
If the young person lives in Halls (which people generally do in the first year) their utility bills are included (gas, electric, water), however they do have to buy a TV licence.
If they live in a shared house some landlords include the cost of the utility bills in with the rent.
A student can apply for a Maintenance Grant (which doesn't have to be paid back) and a Maintenance Loan (which does have to be paid back). The application for these is made on the same form to Student Finance. They will also have to apply for a Tuition Fee Loan. Again, this can be done on the same form.
The application forms, PN1 (New Students) and PR1 (Continuing Students) are downloadable, however they recommend applying on line. An application for finance has to be made each year.
The Student Finance website can be accessed through www.gov.uk. This has lots of information as well as being the place to apply. There are downloadable guides that are very good and are easy to understand.
Applications can usually be made from mid-March. The website will advise of the date and also the date they have to be in by. If a student changes course they will need to inform Student Finance.
Payments are made in three instalments - one at the start of each term.
For 2011-2012 the amount of Maintenance Grant a student can get is up to £2,906 per year (as a care leaver they will be classed as an independent student and will therefore be eligible for the grant). The website states that this will rise to 3,250 in 2012.
The Maintenance Loan amount a student can apply for is up to £4,950 (however they will be offered less if they have had the full Maintenance Grant). A student does not have to apply for the loan initially if they are unsure. They can wait until they have started the course and see how they are managing financially.
The amount a student will receive for their Tuition Fee Loan will cover their fees and will be paid directly to the university (there are a few exceptions but the university website would say if a course has higher than usual fees.
A student will receive a financial notification letter and can keep track of their application on line.
A student should also usually get some sort of bursary (a one off payment) from the university - this varies depending on what university they are at. They will get details of this from the university once they are enrolled there.
Some universities have a support worker for care leavers to go to if they need any advice or support - whether they use this or not is up to them.
Certain courses pay an annual bursary. These are usually NHS courses or Social Work courses. These are not applied for in the same ways as grants and loans. The website will explain how to apply and has links to the relevant sites.
If the student is a parent with a dependent child they may be able to apply for additional help for childcare costs. The website and guides will let them know what they can apply for.
All universities have an Access to Learning Fund. Whether students are given anything from this is the decision of the university itself. They can give money as either a grant or a loan and in a lump sum or in instalments. Students need to apply to the Student Services Dept when they have started their course.
Disabled students can claim additional allowances. These are to cover such things as special equipment or a helper. These are known as Disabled Student Allowances (DSAs) and an assessment has to be undertaken before any money is awarded. These allowances are grants not loans.
It is expected that young people will take the opportunity to engage in Education, Employment or Training (EET) whilst involved with the Extra Mile. A great deal of emphasis is placed on supporting young people with EET issues which is evidenced in their Pathway Plan, Reviews and Career Action Plans. The majority of EET activity is supported by an incentive scheme. Regular meetings will have taken place with the young person to discuss options alongside training providers, local college etc.
The Pathway Plan will set out the EET plans for young people for the final 6 months leading to closure or continue, if the young person's education course is still in place and continuing past their 21st Birthday. It will detail what the young person is hoping to achieve and what they wish for their future career options.
If the young person contacts the service post 21 to discuss further educational advice and support; they will be given an appointment to come into the project.
A personal adviser will then refer to the young person's Pathway Plan and exit review. They will also ask the young person what activities they have been involved in since their case closure. An assessment and plan will then be formulated from the meeting/meetings and then be presented to the Project Manager.
The Project Manager and Service Manager will consider the request taking into account the following:
- Assessment/Plan
- Young person's commitment and understanding of the course
- Past involvement in EET
- Length of course
- Financial implications
- Overall support needs of the young person
They will make a decision and will ensure that this is explained to the young person and that the decision is confirmed in writing. Should a decision be made not to support the request, the young person will be given details of the complaints process and offered assistance to access this.
The extent of practical and financial assistance provided will depend on the assessment of the young person's needs and will reflect the type of course, whether it is full or part-time and the young person's existing income.
A written plan will then be put into place outlining the support the young person will need to complete their course if in education/training.
Last Updated: September 26, 2023
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