Written question WQ99979

The Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 places duties on local authorities to safeguard and promote the well-being of looked after children and care leavers. The Act, the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (Wales) Regulations 2015, the Part 6 Code of Practice and the Care Leavers (Wales) Regulations 2015 provide the statutory framework to support care-experienced young people into accommodation that is safe, suitable and capable of meeting their assessed needs.

The Care Leavers (Wales) Regulations 2015 require pathway plans and reviews for care leavers (category 2 and 3) to include details of the accommodation the young person is to occupy, including an assessment of its suitability in light of the young person’s needs and the considerations taken into account in assessing that suitability. In determining suitability, local authorities must have regard to matters including the facilities and services provided, the state of repair, safety, location, support, tenancy status, financial commitments and affordability. They must also consider the young person’s views of the accommodation and their understanding of their rights, responsibilities and funding arrangements.

Local authorities in Wales have a statutory duty to ensure that accommodation for care-experienced children and young people is safe, suitable and able to meet their assessed needs. These statutory safeguards will be reinforced by the implementation of the Homelessness and Social Housing Allocation (Wales) Act 2026, which introduces a duty to help ensure care leavers have suitable accommodation, requires joint protocols between children's services and housing-related support services to plan and commission accommodation and support, and gives care leavers greater priority for social housing.

These safeguards are complemented by preventative support, including £3.77 million through the Youth Support Grant, which funds a Youth Homelessness Coordinator in every local authority, and £3.5 million through the Youth Homelessness Innovation Fund to support innovative housing and support models for young people. The Youth Engagement and Progression Framework also helps identify and support young people at risk of homelessness at an early stage.

Together, these measures are designed to minimise risk and help ensure that care-experienced young people are not placed in accommodation that compromises their safety.