Children Act 1989 (Higher Education Bursary) (England) Regulations 2009

I thank the Minister for introducing this order because it gives us an opportunity to speak about a group of people often left behind in society. The needs of care leavers as they progress into higher education and eventually into employment are a concern for us all. These young people are disadvantaged from the start due to a comparative inability to finance their studies. Given the high level of care leavers not in employment, education or training, this issue demands our full attention. The Government’s own figures on the outcomes for looked-after children show a staggering failure to give care leavers even a fraction of the opportunities that we take for granted for our own children. As the Minister acknowledges, only 7 per cent of care leavers are on a course of higher education at 19. Given the Government’s blanket target of 50 per cent of young people to attend university, this is a startling figure. Equally sad is the fact that 29 per cent of former care leavers are NEET at 19, which is more than double the national figure of 13 per cent. It is encouraging that the Government have recognised the problem. The higher education bursary will give relief to many care leavers struggling under higher education debt without the financial support that their contemporaries receive from their families. However, the measure seems to be too little, too late. It is being introduced as the Government’s term comes to an end, who heralded in 1997 the words, "Education, education, education", but after 12 years in power have failed to address the disparity of outcomes experienced by care leavers and their contemporaries. Does the Minister agree that this has been a dereliction of governmental responsibility? There are some concerns about a lack of clarity about eligibility for the bursary, and as the money is available only to those who have spent 13 weeks or more in care, could the Minister make it clear whether this must be consecutive weeks or just 13 weeks in total? If it is 13 consecutive weeks, will there not be an incentive for local authorities to remove children from care prior to them hitting that threshold? Will the higher education bursary be available to young people who have had a special guardianship order placed on them? If not, why is that? Will the Minister also clarify the age limit for the bursary? As it stands, care leavers are classified as "former relevant children" between the ages of 18 and 21, but a young person over 21 who is still receiving support with education and training from a local authority will be a former relevant child until the end of the programme of study. Does this mean that young people who are over 21 qualify for the grant? I would like some more clarity on the figures involved in these regulations. It would be interesting to know where the nicely rounded figure of £1 million per annum has come from. CAFCASS’s figures show that the demand for care places in March 2009 was the highest recorded in a single month, while care demand was up 3.6 per cent in 2008-09 from the year before. Does the £1 million take into account fluctuating numbers of care leavers at higher education age? Where will the £1 million come from? On what have the Government based the view that there will be a 10 per cent increase year-on-year of care leavers going on to higher education? The Government’s own figures utterly refute this. Is it responsible of the Government to project their spending according to their own hugely optimistic projections for care leavers entering higher education? Similarly, it would be helpful to know what costs may be involved in marketing the scheme and other transitional costs. How will care leavers be made aware of the higher education bursary? Will that come out of the £1 million or will unexpected costs be involved? It is also of concern that the figure for the bursaries themselves, £2,000, comes from research undertaken four years ago. That may have been the excess debt that care leavers were saddled with then. Can the Minister guarantee that the sum is still appropriate and that it will be regularly reviewed? Under Regulation 4, the local authority has the power to decide on the method of payment of the bursary. Why is this the case? What is meant by: ""Before making any decision about payment of the higher education bursary the local authority must, as far as reasonably practicable, ascertain and give due consideration to the wishes and feelings of the former relevant child"?" Is there a case for allowing care leavers themselves to decide? We also seek guarantees that this grant will not detract from the local authority’s responsibilities under Section 23. Authorities must not claim that the grant covers costs such as housing assistance that they might otherwise be obliged to provide. Will the Minister offer an assurance that this will not occur? While it is important to deal with debts incurred by care leavers during their higher education, we must not forget that it is in terms not merely of a lesser ability to pay for university that care leavers are disadvantaged. My honourable friends Michael Gove and Tim Loughton have spoken recently about the disparity of attainment at GCSE level between children in care and their contemporaries. Under this Government, the gap has grown from 46.3 per cent in 2005 to 49.4 per cent in 2008. Will the Minister outline what the Government are doing to ensure that schools give particular attention to the education of children in care, and that universities consider the potential of looked-after children whose grades may have been achieved in circumstances of extreme difficulty and may not accurately reflect their abilities? While we on these Benches welcome the higher education bursary, the Minister should assure us that everything possible is being done to ensure that the attainment gap between care leavers and their contemporaries is bridged. I shall listen carefully to her response.