Agenda item

To consider the following motion submitted by Councillor S Sheahan:

 “This council notes that:

1. Last year, 90 young people in Leicestershire (aged 16 or over) left the care of the County Council and began the difficult transition out of care and into adulthood. A proportion of these young people came to live in North West Leicestershire.

2. A 2016 report by The Children’s Society found that when care leavers move into independent accommodation they begin to manage their own budget fully for the first time. The report showed that care leavers can find this extremely challenging and with no family to support them and insufficient financial education, are falling into debt and financial difficulty.

3. Research from The Centre for Social Justice found that over half (57%) of young people leaving care have difficulty managing their money and avoiding debt when leaving care.

4. Whilst the County Council has statutory corporate parenting responsibilities towards young people who have left care up until the age of 25, the Children and Social Work Act 2017 placed corporate parenting responsibilities on district councils for the first time, requiring them to have regard to children in care and care leavers when carrying out their functions.

This council believes that:

1. To ensure that the transition from care to adult life is as smooth as possible, and to mitigate the chances of care leavers falling into debt as they begin to manage their own finances, they should be exempt from paying council tax until they are 25.

2. Care leavers are a particularly vulnerable group for council tax debt.

This council, therefore, resolves:

1. To recommend to Cabinet that the Council Tax Support Scheme be amended so that care leavers in North West Leicestershire be exempted from council tax.

2. To work with Leicestershire County Council and all council tax collecting authorities within   the county area to exempt all care leavers in the county from council tax up to the age of 25.

Councillor S Sheahan moved the following motion:

“This council notes that:

1.    Last year, 90 young people in Leicestershire (aged 16 or over) left the care of the County Council and began the difficult transition out of care and into adulthood. A proportion of these young people came to live in North West Leicestershire.

2.    A 2016 report by The Children’s Society found that when care leavers move into independent accommodation they begin to manage their own budget fully for the first time. The report showed that care leavers can find this extremely challenging and with no family to support them and insufficient financial education, are falling into debt and financial difficulty.

3.    Research from The Centre for Social Justice found that over half (57%) of young people leaving care have difficulty managing their money and avoiding debt when leaving care.

4.    Whilst the County Council has statutory corporate parenting responsibilities towards young people who have left care up until the age of 25, the Children and Social Work Act 2017 placed corporate parenting responsibilities on district councils for the first time, requiring them to have regard to children in care and care leavers when carrying out their functions.

This council believes that:

1.    To ensure that the transition from care to adult life is as smooth as possible, and to mitigate the chances of care leavers falling into debt as they begin to manage their own finances, they should be exempt from paying council tax until they are 25.

2.    Care leavers are a particularly vulnerable group for council tax debt.

This council, therefore, resolves:

1.    To recommend to Cabinet that the Council Tax Support Scheme be amended so that care leavers in North West Leicestershire be exempted from council tax.

2.    To work with Leicestershire County Council and all council tax collecting authorities within   the county area to exempt all care leavers in the county from council tax up to the age of 25.

Councillor Sheahan spoke to the motion and stated that care leavers were one of the most vulnerable groups in society and were more likely to have abrupt transitions into adulthood than their peers.  He added that when they turned 18, care leavers became liable for paying Council Tax, most of which went to the council which was responsible for their care.  He highlighted research undertaken by the Childrens’ Society which showed that many care leavers experienced difficulties with managing a budget.  He also referred to the government’s care leavers strategy which encouraged councils to consider the role of the corporate parent and encouraged local authorities to consider exempting care leavers from paying Council Tax.  He added that the latest data showed that 83 top tier authorities had introduced exemptions from Council Tax for care leavers and if passed, this motion would support the process.  He stated that he could not emphasise enough how much this would help a vulnerable group.

Councillor R Blunt seconded the motion and confirmed that as part of a county-wide initiative, the council wished to support reducing the liability of care leavers to zero.  He advised that Policy Development Group would receive a report on this matter at its meeting on 19 September, prior to consideration by Cabinet.

In response to a question from Councillor R D Bayliss, the Section 151 Officer confirmed that it was not currently the council’s policy to provide exemptions from Council Tax for care leavers, however changes to this were currently being discussed across Leicestershire.

Members expressed support for the motion.

The motion was then put to the vote and declared CARRIED.