All questions below refer to:
– Care leavers who are 16 to 25-year-olds
– Live in your local authority area
– Data from the last financial year
1. How many care leavers currently live in your local authority area?
303
2. How many care leavers are in semi-independent or independent living such as supported housing, rented accommodation ?
106
3. How many care leavers ceased receiving support from the local authority?
19 (since 31/01/2022)
4. Does your local authority provide care leavers with any kind of help to manage their personal finances?
• Yes
If “Yes”, please go to 4.1
If “No”, please go to 5.
4.1 In the last financial year, how did your local authority support care leavers to manage their personal finances and how many care leavers received this type of support?
• From a local authority employee: ____
Such as: Personal Adviser, case worker, social worker, LA employed youth worker
Personal Advisers can support young people to access advice and guidance to manage their money, if they require it. This would include supporting them open bank accounts if they don’t have one or need to change banks, sharing information about how to avoid and manage debt, helping them to access benefits and undertake budgeting exercises using resources found online, or using budgeting sheets. We currently have 423 care leavers aged between 18 and 25 who may have required this support in the last financial year. It is currently not possible to say exactly how many have received this support.
• From an outside organisation: ____
Such as: specialist charity, Jobcentre Plus, non-LA employed youth worker
We have partner agencies who also provide advice and guidance; Job Centre Plus, The Rees Foundation and the Citizens Advice Bureau have supported our young people in the past year. In particular, the Citizens Advice Bureau provided virtual group sessions on money management and debt, as well as advice on how to avoid financial scams. We currently have 423 care leavers aged between 18 and 25 who may have required this support in the last financial year. It is currently not possible to say exactly how many have received this support.
• Both the above: ____
Please see answers above
4.2 If support is provided by a local authority employee, what training and support do they get for helping care leavers manage their personal finances?
There is a online workshop accessible through Devon Learning Pool entitled Focus on Your Finances, available to all employees. Personal Advisers have regular peer-led Practice Development sessions, to share resources and support each other’s practice. Service meetings are attended by colleagues from Job Centre Plus to provided advice and guidance to LA employees in the Corporate Parenting Service, as do colleagues from Step Forward, who work with Citizens Advice Bureau to deliver the virtual group sessions mentioned above.
4.3 If support is provided by an outside organisation, do you commission this work? If yes, what commissioning framework do you use to outsource the work?
We do not commission this work
4.4 If support is provided by an outside organisation, which organisation(s) do you use?
Job Centre Plus and Citizens Advice Bureau
4.5 If support is provided by an outside organisation, how much money did your local authority ring-fence for commissioning this work in the last financial year?
We do not commission this work
4.6 Which of the following topics does your local authority and/or outside organisation(s) cover when helping care leavers manage their personal finances?
Tick ALL that applies
• Junior ISAs or Child Trust Funds
• Tenancy agreements: Rights & Responsibilities – X
• Cost of moving in – X
• Avoiding eviction – X
• Paying household bills – X
• Choosing utility providers
• Banking – Accounts & Savings – X
• Borrowing safely
• Budgeting – Weekly & Monthly – X
• Spending habits – Good & Bad – X
• Shopping – Offers, consumer rights
• Benefits – Entitlements & Universal Credit – X
• Online safety and spotting scams – X
• Risks of money-muling
• What’s next – Planning for the future?
• Getting identification (NINO, passport) – X
• Other, please state ___________________________________________
4.7 Is it mandatory for care leavers to complete a course in managing personal finances?
• No
4.8 Of care leavers who were mandated to complete a course on managing personal finances, how many completed the course?
Not applicable following our response to question 4.7
5. What other support and entitlements can care leavers apply for from their local authority?
Such as: care grants, exceptional financial support in emergencies, free bus pass
This can be seen in our Financial Offer for Devon Care Leavers
6. Which care leavers are exempt from paying council tax?
Those that apply to their local housing district and are successful in being made exempt due to financial hardship.
If any care leavers pay council tax, please go to 6.1
If all care leavers are exempt, please go to 7.
6.1 How many care leavers accrued council tax arrears in the last financial year?
This information is recorded at individual level and would require the input of all Personal Advisers to report on the individual circumstances for each of their young people. It is estimated that it would require approximately 30 days to obtain this information and would take more than the appropriate time limit of 18 hours. We are therefore not obliged to provide this information pursuant to section 12 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
6.2 What was the average amount of council tax arrears that care leavers accrued in the last financial year?
Please see our answer to question 6.1
7. How many care leavers accrued rent or service charge arrears in the last financial year? It is not possible to provide this information within the required timescale.
Please see our answer to question 6.1
7.1 Of those who accrued rent or service charge arrears in the last financial year, what was the average amount accrued?
Please see our answer to question 6.1
8. How many care leavers were served an eviction notice in the last financial year?
15 that we have been made aware of.
9. How many care leavers were evicted from their (LA provided) accommodation since mid-June 2021?
7
10. How many care leavers were evicted from their (LA provided) accommodation in the financial year 2018-2019?
Please see our answer to question 6.1
11. What implications does eviction have for a care leaver when applying for future social housing?
If they have been evicted and made a homeless approach, they would be found intentionally homeless so would not be given the higher banding creating a barrier to a social tenancy. The only way to then address that is for them to go to support accommodation so that they can achieve Band B again.