Next steps in £12m supported accommodation plan agreed

The additional accommodation will enable more young people to stay within Wiltshire

Plans to provide supported accommodation for young people who have been in care or those seeking asylum have taken a step forward.

Wiltshire Council has agreed to start looking for housing providers for 68 young people.

It comes under a £10.6m investment, which was announced in February. Another £1.6m was also agreed to provide children’s residential homes for children with complex needs.

Cabinet member for children’s services, Laura Mayes, said: "This accommodation means more young people can stay within Wiltshire, close to their communities, friends and established support networks with council services."

She added: "This continuity is key to young people being successfully independent in terms of their health, wealth and emotional wellbeing."

Council leaders have agreed next steps to provide supported accommodation and residential care homes

There are currently 340 young people in the county who have experienced being in care, including those seeking asylum and those with disabilities.

At a meeting on 7 May, council members agreed that two new procurement processes would begin to find Ofsted-registered accommodation providers on a five-year contract, with the option to extend for a further five years.

Ms Mayes said the investment forms part of a "preventative approach to council finances", by investing money now to save on higher costs in the future from "expensive private and out of county placements".

Wiltshire Council has a role as a "corporate parent" with legal obligations to support care-experienced young people, as well as a legal duty to provide homes for unaccompanied young people seeking asylum.

There are currently 96 care-experienced young people from the Wiltshire Council area living in supported accommodation, 57 of which are young people seeking asylum.