HC Deb 22 July 1988 vol 137 c875W
Mr. Frank Field

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services whether the Government will bring forward proposals in new legislation about children in care to place local authorities under a duty to support young people leaving care in the manner of a good parent, following the changes in income support.

Mrs. Currie

Young people who are not living with their parents and who are in the care of a local authority immediately before they reach the age of 16 will be eligible to receive income support for a short period after leaving school. By the end of this period they will have been offered a YTS place. There is therefore no need to extend the duties of local authorities beyond the proposals on aftercare outlined in the White Paper "The Law on Child Care and Family Services" (Cm. 62) at paragraphs 32 and 33.