Minutes:
Answer
How care leavers receive the allowance really depends on what is appropriate for the individual concerned. As a corporate parent our main priority is to assist our care experienced young people to become fully independent before they turn 25, when our formal duty ends. Care Leavers with a 'former relevant' statushave an allocated Personal Advisor (also known as PA)who work with them from the age of 16 up to age 25.
As a corporate parent a key offer and duty is preparing and supporting our care leavers when they move to their own tenancy. This includes the offer of a setting up home allowance' (SUHA) which are funds up to the value of £3,000. This increased from £2,000 in 2023.
Care Leavers can use this money for specific items at any time following a move. However, the main function is to help care leavers set up their home, when moving into their first independent accommodation. This can be to purchase essential items. Essential items can include white goods for example a washing machine, kitchenware, and furniture. Their 'setting up home allowance' may also be used to purchase flooring when they move into independent social housing.
The 'setting up home allowance' is a one-off allowance. How it is accessed will vary depending on the care leavers support needs. This could include transferring the funds into the care leavers bank account for them to administer and obtain the items they require, or Personal Advisors can order items on behalf of the care leaver where they are not yet able to manage this independently, or where they don’t have access to payment methods. Young people can also buy necessary items as agreed with their PA, keep the receipts, and be reimbursed.
Supplementary Question:
Thank you for the response. You mentioned that the amount was up to the value of £3,000 from the Department of Education to the local authorities. In March 2023 it was mentioned that the grant was a minimum of £3,000, which I think is an important distinction to make. Are you confident that all care leavers are getting the full entitlement of a minimum of £3,000?
Supplementary Answer:
That is not quite right, in that it is our discretion as to how much we give them. We make a policy decision ourselves, and I cannot answer for each individual care leaver, because each individual care leaver is different. Some people will not need that amount of money, others will. I am sure you would want us to just give them money which they do not need either. I will have to look into this a bit more and give you more of a written answer. Maybe we can discuss it after this meeting, exactly what you would like to know, and I am sure we can arrange for that to happen, but I would not like you to think, and I do not think that it would be true, that some care leavers are not getting the amount of money that they need to actually be able to set up their home.