Young people who have been in care will be better protected from falling into homelessness with new duties on councils to support young people as they step out of care and towards independent living.
The Care Leaver Homelessness Reduction Action Plan, launched at the start of Care Leavers Month 2026, declares that no young person should become homeless when they leave care. It also gives clear new duties to local authorities to prevent that from happening.
Currently, too many young people lose their support overnight when they leave care. Without family to fall back on, they can face poor mental health, money worries, a lack of jobs or education, and too few suitable homes.
Under new rules, local authorities are required to publish their plans for care leavers’ accommodation needs, work with housing partners, and support those at risk of homelessness in their local offer for care leavers. Additionally, care leavers can no longer be found intentionally homeless, which is currently a barrier to getting much-needed assistance that fails to reflect their particular circumstances.
The Plan also encourages local authorities to publish local targets and what support is available for young people at risk of homelessness and commits targeted support and advice to areas of higher risk, overseen by MHCLG youth homelessness advisers.
It follows the Prime Minister setting out his confidence last week that everyone sleeping rough will be offered a route off the streets before Christmas, as he brought businesses, charities and local leaders together for the first Rough Sleeping Summit at Downing Street to drive further action from across society. At the Budget, the government also announced new funding to sustain this support through the rest of this Parliament.
Children’s Minister Josh MacAlister said:
Supporting young people who have been in care is a vital part of our national mission to end rough sleeping.
Too many care leavers step into adulthood without a strong support network around them, and homelessness can be one of the tragic consequences.
We’re changing children’s social care from top to bottom, making enduring relationships the focus of the system and expanding support for care leavers to help ensure they have a place to call home.
Minister for Homelessness, Florence Eshalomi, said:
Our commitment to tackling homelessness is about so much more than offering a bed to sleep in, or a roof over someone’s head: it’s about preventing people from ever reaching that point in the first place.
That’s why we’re launching this plan to make sure young people leaving care don’t face a cliff edge just when they need support most.
These measures will give care leavers the support and opportunities they need as they move out of care and start their adult lives.
The number of care leavers aged 18 to 24 in England has risen to 86,890, up almost 10% in two years, and they remain over-represented in the homelessness system. The plan aims to halve the number of care experienced people who are homeless.
The government’s Action Plan:
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builds on rules introduced in the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act this year, under which local authorities are required to publish their plans to support care leavers at risk of homelessness in their local offer, and certain care leavers under 25 can no longer be found intentionally homeless. Wider rules mean they also no longer have to meet local connection tests to get social housing;
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expects councils to publish clearly what housing and support they offer care leavers, to plan ahead for their accommodation needs and to work with local housing teams;
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brings together the guidance, tools, resources and support available to local authorities and their partners to help strengthen local prevention activity, including a new guide for councils entitled Planning Housing Pathways for Care Leavers, updated guidance on joint working between housing and children’s services, guidance on young people who stay with their foster carers after 18, a new youth homelessness prevention toolkit, and a new Homelessness Code of Guidance youth chapter. and, In 2027, there will be updated guidance on social housing allocations;
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introduces a new £3m Test, Learn, Grow programme focussed on youth homelessness prevention
The plan builds on the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act 2026. Staying Close, which helps care leavers find and keep a safe home and access health, education and work up to the age of 25, is already running in 50 areas and will become a national duty on councils for care leavers up to 25 from 2029.
From autumn 2027, government departments and public bodies will also become corporate parents, with a duty to work together with councils to support care leavers.
The new Plan also follows the government’s Review of early deaths of care leavers, published on 25 August, which highlighted the isolation many young people face when they leave care.
Seyi Obakin, Chief Executive Officer at Centrepoint said:
We warmly welcome the Government’s spotlight on care leavers as they continue to face a greater risk of experiencing homelessness.
We know that the number of care leavers aged 18–20 assessed as facing homelessness in England increased by 37% over the past five years. These young people often leave care without the safety net of a family or supportive network around them and need help to transition into adulthood.
Roughly 48% of the young people we support have been in care. They often have no choice but to deal with the challenges and responsibilities of living independently at a young age, so the launch of this new action plan will help focus efforts and provide an important opportunity to strengthen the support available to them.
We stand ready to play our part and work collectively with Government and our partners to make sure it’s implemented. For us, this means ensuring young people have access to safe, stable and genuinely affordable housing, alongside the financial, practical and emotional support they need to sustain a home and build an independent life.
Every young person deserves the solid foundations of a home from which to thrive and build a future.
Louise Mumcular, Policy Officer at Coram said:
We welcome publication of the government’s Care Leaver Homelessness Reduction Action Plan. For too long, care experienced young people have faced disproportionately high risks of homelessness, often at a time when they are navigating the challenges of adulthood without the support networks many of their peers rely on. Every year our Coram Voice advocacy service provides support to hundreds of care leavers every year across the country, and housing is the most common issue for which young people seek support.
The commitments announced today are important steps in the right direction. We particularly welcome the government’s recognition that no young person should become homeless as a result of leaving care.
Ambitious national targets will only be achieved if they are backed by sufficient investment, consistent implementation across local areas, access to suitable and affordable housing, and meaningful support that helps young people sustain tenancies and thrive. It will be particularly important to strengthen support at key transition points and moments of vulnerability, such as when young people move home, leave education or training, or experience a breakdown in living arrangements. Every care-experienced young person must have not just a roof over their head, but a safe, stable and supportive home.