Care leavers council tax discount supported

West Devon joins to help young people with housing costs

West Devon Borough Council has joined other local authorities in Devon and agreed that young people leaving care should not have to pay council tax until they are 25.

A uniformed approach is taking place across the county to implement a scheme which is simple and does not stigmatise care leavers.

Local authorities are ‘corporate parents’ to people coming out of care and their role involves improving access to housing as well as work experience and employment.

By providing financial support in this way, councils say they help care leavers manage the transition to adulthood with financial assistance similar to many parents as their children move toward independence.

Currently nine care leavers live in West Devon and are liable for council tax.

The 100 per cent council tax discount will be effective from Sunday 1 October and the cost to West Devon will be £3,461 for the rest of the financial year. A full year will be £6,922 based on the current number of care leavers, although over the next five years the number of care leavers isn’t expected to be more than 12.

West Devon’s hub committee members were told that consistency across Devon will avoid a postcode lottery of some care leavers getting support and others not, simply based on where they live.

This is because the approach to date has been to provide support through council tax reduction and exceptional hardship funds, which are only accessible to care leavers on low incomes.

Council leader Mandy Ewings said she had been surprised how readily some larger authorities like Exeter had given their support, bearing in mind how large a cost it would be, but she is fully behind the scheme.

She was told that all districts are supporting it in principle. Councillors in West Devon voted unanimously to support it too.