Teens face 'cliff edge' when leaving care, MP says

A Westminster debate on the issue heard the system was a postcode lottery "stacked against care leavers"

Young people leaving care face a disappearing "cliff edge of support" when they turn 18, an MP has told a parliamentary debate.

Sally Jameson, Labour's Doncaster Central representative, said the system was a postcode lottery and "stacked against care leavers".

During her adjournment debate on the topic in the House of Commons chamber on Monday, she said: "We need to move towards having one support package in place so every care leaver knows what to expect and can access it."

A government spokesperson said it had a "comprehensive plan to fix the children's social care system at every single level".

Jameson is a patron for the Doncaster Housing for Young People (DHYP) charity, which provides housing support, life skills and emotional wellbeing services.

"It is quite hard for people who have not been in that situation to imagine what it must be like to be on their own with no support network, no family and often no friends in an area where they did not grow up," she said.

"One young woman shared how she was not ready emotionally or financially to live independently but moved into supported lodgings where she could build life skills, continue her studies and focus on her wellbeing."

Doncaster Central MP Sally Jameson is calling for more support for young people in the care system

DHYP said it had supported more than 280 young people in 2024, many of whom were care leavers.

Michele Beck, its chief executive officer, said: "Young people deserve more than just a roof over their heads - they need stability, guidance, and time to heal from often traumatic early starts to life.

"We urge the government to invest in more charities providing supported accommodation, extend consistent support up to the age of 25 and ensure care leavers can access their entitlements without delay."

Jameson called on the government to prioritise care leavers on housing lists in areas they have lived for more than six months, reform universal credit, give free bus travel to care leavers up to the age of 25 and offer free prescriptions.

Speaking during the debate, Josh MacAlister, the government's minister for children and families, said the government already supported care leavers with housing and gave them the highest level of maintenance support at university.

"We must move towards earlier effective intervention for families," he said.

"Local authorities need help and support to do that and I will speak to local authorities at the end of this month to set out more detail of how they will get the government's full backing to make those changes."

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