Staying Put

Is anyone able to share any of their Local Authority’s policy or thinking on Staying Put where cared for young people stay with their foster carers from their 18th Birthday until 21.

Is anyone involved in advising on this?

Thank you

Clive

Is this the type of stuff you’re after Clive?
http://nothumberlandcs.proceduresonline.com/chapters/p_staying_put_arrangement.html

Mick, were you involved in helping to set up the financial arrangments for this scheme? Did you meet any resistance from housing benefit? Also with regard to housing benefit what figure do you set as a rental figure? I’m currently trying to set up a scheme in Kirklees and meeting with some resistance from the HB department.

Nope, I had no involvement in the setting up. I’m aware that Children’s Services & Benefit Revenues, both under NCC, seem to have a level of contact between them which appears to work.

HM government guidance at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/staying-put-arrangements-for-care-leavers-aged-18-years-and-above , which seems fairly sensible stuff. Have you any idea why the HB department is not happy? In this area, some Staying Put arrangements are funded totally with Section 23 payments, others have the young person claiming HB in addition to Section 23 payments. I provided social workers drawing up the scheme with a contact point in HB and, as far as I know, they have ironed out any potential prob,ems HB may have had.

I’m involved in giving benefits advice to care leavers who are staying put and I’ve had a hand in designing the systems and forms used by the County Council.  We’re an upper tier authority so don’t have a Housing Benefit department; in fact we have 7 different district/borough councils in the county, which can be a challenge sometimes.  We tend not to have problems with HB claims although occasionally one of the HB departments wants to query whether these are commercial tenancies.  I now know what their questions will be so I’ve got some stock answers.

The County Council sets the amount that staying put carers should receive.  Historically it was set at the amount paid for basic foster caring minus the set figures for clothing and pocket money.  The methodology seems to have wandered a little but it’s currently set at £213 a week.  I have designed the tenancy agreements to show that the rent breakdown is a core rent of £87 (the one bedroom rate of LHA in the area is £86.54) and the balance of £126 is general counselling & support.  To recover some of the £126 we expect the young people to contribute a minimum of £20 a week to pay for their food, heating/lighting/hot water.  The balance is paid out of the Council’s section 24 budget (in my experience access to section 23 money stops at age 18).

I don’t mind having a conversation and sharing my paperwork with any of you that have posted on this thread.  Please email me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Linda- section 23 payments do not stop when a young person reaches the age of 18 - see the guidance in my previous post which specifically refers to payments under section 23C of the Children Act, and (for example) section 23CA, which refers to young persons under 25. It is important to be sure under what provision the payments are made to carers as payments under section 23 are disregarded for means tested benefits (which the carer may receive)

Linda Willars - 19 February 2015 06:06 PM

I have designed the tenancy agreements to show that the rent breakdown is a core rent of £87 (the one bedroom rate of LHA in the area is £86.54) and the balance of £126 is general counselling & support.  To recover some of the £126 we expect the young people to contribute a minimum of £20 a week to pay for their food, heating/lighting/hot water.  .

Shouldn’t your figures use the shared room rate?

Gareth - not if care leaver aged under 22 - one bedroom rate is fine

It is important to be sure under what provision the payments are made to carers as payments under section 23 are disregarded for means tested benefits (which the carer may receive)[/quote]

Payments made under section 24 are disregarded too, so perhaps it doesn’t matter too much.  I’m pretty sure that they’re using section 24 here but I’ll find out.  Thanks for your help.

PS It looks like I don’t know how to quote properly; please bear with me while I find out (*feeling out of touch*)