Plan to drive down homelessness for young people leaving care
What was announced
Government sets out new Action Plan to reduce homelessness for care-experienced young people, building on PM’s pledge to tackle rough sleeping.
Key points, in the publisher's words
- 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.
Figures in this announcement
Each line is quoted from the original. Figures are as the publisher stated them on the day.
- “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.”
- “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.”
- “Roughly 48% of the young people we support have been in care.”
Check it against the official record
The latest official figures on the subjects this story covers, each with its source and full history:
Who and where
People
- Josh MacAlister (MP for Whitehaven and Workington (Labour)) · more news
- Florence Eshalomi (MP for Vauxhall and Camberwell Green (Labour (Co-op))) · more news
UK bodies of power
- Department for Education (UK government department) · more news
- Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street (UK national body) · more news
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (UK government department) · more news
Constituencies of the MPs named: Whitehaven And Workington, Vauxhall And Camberwell Green.
Where this sits in the 10 levels of power
Topics, as GOV.UK files them: Children's health and welfare, Children and young people leaving care.
Receipt
- Original: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/plan-to-drive-down-homelessness-for-young-people-leaving-care
- Published 2026-11-05 00:01:02 UTC
- Read by this site 2026-11-05 00:15:43 UTC from GOV.UK
- Saved copy: receipt 8314, with its SHA-256 fingerprint
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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