Provide housing allowance for Care leavers aged 16 to 25

I left care at 16 years old 10 years ago and because I was working as an apprentice I couldnt afford my own home or supported housing. 10 years on young people still often avoid apprenticeships as the low wage doesn't cover their bills. I want more financial support for low income care leavers.

Young people are given low wages because they are assumed to be living with families, what happens to young people who have left care with no family and now have to face rent, council tax, bills and the prospect of being homeless. We should be encouraging young people to work yet they are still choosing not to because wages do not cover their extensive bills. I want to introduce flexible benefits to working care leavers aged 16-25 so they can afford supported or adequate unsupported housing.

The Government recognises the unique challenges faced by young people leaving local authority care and improving support for care leavers continues to be a high priority.

Universal Credit is designed to replicate the world of work through the introduction of a range of measures such as monthly assessment periods. At its core is a focus on getting people into work and supporting in-work progression. Setting a clear benefit rate for claimants under the age of 25 reflects the lower wages that younger workers typically receive. This is intended to maintain the incentive for younger people to find work which has been aided by the Department’s £2bn Kickstart scheme which is already creating thousands of high-quality jobs for young people.

For claimants who live independently, Universal Credit already includes separate elements to provide support for housing costs, children and childcare costs and support for disabled people and carers.

Managing a structure of different rates for different groups of younger people adds complexity and cost that cannot be justified in a simpler system of benefits focused on getting people into and supporting them in work. Therefore, when designing Universal Credit, the benefit rates were simplified for under 25s into two separate rates, one for single claimants and one for couples.

The Shared Accommodation Rate (SAR) policy reflects the housing expectations of people of a similar age outside the benefits system. Many young people who are not in receipt of benefits cannot afford to rent by themselves, therefore, we think it is reasonable to expect young Housing Benefit (HB) or Universal Credit (UC) tenants to also share accommodation.