Care Leavers: Mental Health
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the answer of 23 January 2026 to Question 105837 and to the The report of the independent review of deaths among care-experienced young adults in England, published 25 August 2026, what timetable she has set for completing the review of guidance on Promoting the health and well-being of care experienced children and its extension to age 25; what timetable she has set for implementing the Staying Close duty for all local authorities; and what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the pace of this work.
Answered by Department for Education
The government is grateful for the work of Ashley John-Baptiste and Clare Chamberlain in completing their review, commissioned by this government to look at the shockingly high number of early deaths of care experienced young people.
We are determined to address this national tragedy, and we are working at pace, across central government and with local partners, to deliver a significant programme of improved support for care leavers as part of our wider reforms to children’s social care.
We will ensure that the statutory guidance, ‘Promoting the health and wellbeing of looked after children’, takes into account the review’s findings and reflects our wider reforms. These include measures in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026, such as corporate parenting responsibilities for government departments and relevant public bodies, and the health support measures for care leavers announced by the Department of Health and Social Care in December 2025, including free prescriptions, dental and optical care for care leavers.
The department is working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to roll out this suite of measures, sequencing implementation with the statutory guidance update so the guidance reflects these important developments for looked-after children and care leavers.
Staying Close will become a national duty for local authorities to support care leavers up to age 25 to find and keep suitable accommodation in 2029. The programme is already delivered across 50 sites (47 local authorities and 3 charities). An enhanced Staying Close programme will be rolled out nationally by 2029 in a phased approach. It is focused on improving care leavers’ housing outcomes, and stability and belonging, which is fundamental to promoting enduring relationships.
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