Committee announce new inquiry on 16 Plus Care Options

• Inquiry: 16 Plus Care Options
• Submit written evidence

The Government recently announced a new legal duty on local authorities to support financially every care leaver who wants to stay with their foster parents until their 21st birthday.  This new legal duty does not apply to young people living in residential children’s homes or those placed in alternative types of accommodation.  It is this issue, along with the suitability, safety and regulatory nature of alternative accommodation provided, that the inquiry will investigate. 

Submissions of written evidence are invited to address the following points:

• The kinds of accommodation that are provided for young people aged 16 and 17 who are looked after by local authorities.
• The suitability, safety and regulatory nature of alternative accommodation provided for young people who are aged 16 and 17 and looked after by local authorities.
• Whether the Government’s announcement to extend local authorities’ duties to support young people wishing to stay with foster carers until the age of 21 should apply to those in residential children’s homes.
• Whether provision of alternative accommodation should be extended to the age of 21.

The Committee asks for written submissions in accordance with the guidelines below by midday on 28 February 2014.

The deadline is Friday 28 February 2014. As a guideline submissions should be no longer than 3000 words.

Submissions should be in the format of a self-contained memorandum. Paragraphs should be numbered for ease of reference, and the document should, if possible, include an executive summary.

Submissions should be original work, not previously published or circulated elsewhere. Once submitted, your submission becomes the property of the Committee and no public use should be made of it unless you have first obtained permission from the Clerk of the Committee. Please bear in mind that Committees are not able to investigate individual cases.

The Committee normally, though not always, chooses to publish the written evidence it receives, either by printing the evidence, publishing it on the internet or by making it publicly available through the Parliamentary Archives. If there is any information you believe to be sensitive you should highlight it and explain what harm you believe would result from its disclosure; the Committee will take this into account in deciding whether to publish or further disclose the evidence.

For data protection purposes, it would be helpful if individuals wishing to submit written evidence send their contact details in a covering letter. You should be aware that there may be circumstances in which the House of Commons will be required to communicate information to third parties on request, in order to comply with its obligations under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.