Support and information for care leavers

A care leaver is defined as a young person leaving the care of the local authority aged up to 25 who has been looked after for at least 13 weeks in total since the age of 14.

Corporate parenting duty introduced by the Children and Social Work Act 2017 sets out the role all local authorities must regard in supporting young people who are either in care or leaving the care system up to the age of 25.

The seven steps of corporate parenting principles

The principles are:

• to act in the best interests, and promote the physical and mental health and well-being, of those children and young people
• to encourage those children and young people to express their views, wishes and feelings
• to take into account the views, wishes and feelings of those children and young people
• to help those children and young people gain access to, and make the best use of, services provided by the local authority and its relevant partners
• to promote high aspirations, and seek to secure the best outcomes, for those children and young people
• for those children and young people to be safe, and for stability in their home lives, relationships and education or work
• to prepare those children and young people for adulthood and independent living

Our local offer

Hampshire County Council has the statutory duty for providing services for care leavers however the following support is available locally from us.

Council tax
We offer council tax exemption arrangement for care leavers. This applies to young people leaving care who apply for council tax support. The relief tapers off between the ages of 21 to 25 to help prepare recipients for the move to the full rate post 25. Visit our Council tax webpage for further information and how to apply

Housing
For information about how to get help with Housing visit our Approach us for housing and homelessness advice webpage.

To apply to the housing register visit Applying for a housing association property

Benefits
Find information about help with paying rent
Check if you are entitled to other benefits

Employment skills and training opportunities

Visit the Working in Basingstoke and Deane page on our Love Basingstoke site for information about:

• finding work with details about local agencies, apprenticeships and large local employers
• employability and skills, view a range of courses and opportunities to help you find work or progress your career
• local networking groups
• volunteering in Basingstoke

Hampshire County Council support and local offer

The county council has a dedicated page with a wide range of resources to support care leavers.