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<p>Local authorities are the primary corporate parents for looked after children and
care leavers. They are responsible for making decisions about where children and young
people live and what additional support that they need in order to make a successful
transition to adulthood. The government believes that these decisions are best taken
locally, based on local professionals’ judgements about what is needed for each child
or young person, depending on their individual circumstances. We do not think it would
be feasible for those decisions to be taken by a central team based in central government.</p><p>The
government does recognise, however, that local authorities cannot do it all on their
own. That is why it has established a cross-government Ministerial Board to consider
how the government collectively can ensure that its policies and services recognise
and respond to care leavers’ unique circumstances, and to drive improved outcomes
for care leavers.</p><p>The government is also taking the lead in providing direct
employment opportunities to care leavers, particularly through the Civil Service care
leaver internship scheme. This year, the scheme is offering over 500 12-month paid
internships to care leavers in over 20 government departments and agencies across
the UK.</p><p>We also recognise that private businesses and other organisations, such
as universities, have a role to play too. That is why we launched the Care Leaver
Covenant, which provides a way for organisations from the private and voluntary sectors
to set out their offer to care leavers. Details of the organisations that have signed
the covenant and their published offers are available here:<br> <a href="https://mycovenant.org.uk/"
target="_blank">https://mycovenant.org.uk/</a>.</p><p>We are committed to improving
the experiences and outcomes of care leavers through the Ministerial Board. It will
address many of the concerns that are highlighted in the Children’s Services Development
Group’s ‘Destination Unknown’ report. This will happen through the Ministerial Board’s
focus on education, employment and training and addressing care leavers’ financial
vulnerability.</p>
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