Issue - meetings

To receive a report which sets out an overview as to why Kent County Council are required to produce a Local Offer for Care Leavers and details of the proposed offer.

Ms Smith (Interim Assistant Director for Corporate Parenting) and Mr Startup (Head of Care Leavers 18 plus Service) were in attendance for this item.

1.          Ms Smith introduced the report which provided an overview of the requirement placed on the County Council to produce a Local Offer for Care Leavers and detailed the proposed offer.

Ms Smith and Mr Startup then responded to comments and questions from Members, including the following: -

a)    Ms Smith confirmed that comprehensive training would be provided to foster carers in relation to the local offer.

b)    Ms Smith said that the local offer would be shared with all of Kent’s districts. She said that Kent County Council were working closely with housing boroughs towards being able to offer council tax exemption to Kent’s care leavers.

c)    Ms Smith stated that an interactive, easy-read local offer document would be available on Kent County Council’s website.

d)    Mr Startup referred to the entitlement rates within the document and confirmed that they were being reviewed. He said the revised entitlement rates would be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee.

e)    Mr Startup referred to the accredited course that was offered to Kent’s care leavers and answered questions from Members of the Committee.

f)     In relation to the food vouchers that were offered to Kent’s care leavers, Ms Smith stated that they were a safe way of ensuring that young people could buy food in supermarkets. She added that Kent’s care leavers were supported by Kent County Council to ensure that they were able to attend college and had an aspirational future.

2.          Mr Dunkley referred to Kent’s bulge of 800 unaccompanied asylum-seeking care leavers and said that there was severe financial pressure on Kent County Council’s budget to accommodate the additional care leavers in Kent.

3.          RESOLVED that the decision proposed to be taken by the Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Education, to

              a)    agree publication of KCC’s Local Offer for Care Leavers up to the age of 25 years in accordance with the statutory requirements of The Children and Social Work Act (2017); and

              b)    delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Children, Young People and Education, or other nominated officer, to undertake the necessary actions to implement the decision,

be endorsed.