Former relevant young people

Illegal money lenders or loan sharks as they are more commonly known are criminals and they will lend money to almost anyone at extortionately high interest rates (100% a week is the norm) and will use a variety of tactics such as intimidation, harassment, threats and violence to ensure that the borrower continues to pay with no end date to the loan.

In the period 2016 – 2021, Devon was the nations “hotspot” for loan shark activity and Torbay in particular had numerous arrests made and several prosecutions.

Anyone who owes a loan shark money needs specialist help and support which only the Stop Loan Shark Team can provide and they can be contacted (anonymously if needs be) either by calling their 24/7/365 Helpline on 0300 555 2222 or via their Live Chat facility on their website www.stoploansharks.co.uk
And most importantly, anyone who has taken a loan from a loan shark has NOT committed any offence at all.

When you become a care experienced adult and are assessed as being ready to live independently, you may be eligible for a ‘Setting Up Home Allowance’ (also known as Leaving Care Grant) of up to £2000, which your Personal Advisor will help you apply for. Your Personal Advisor will work with you to ensure the allowance lasts well into your adult life, so you have a fall-back plan if something doesn’t quite work out as you planned.
This allowance is to help you to buy furniture or other equipment when moving into independent, permanent housing, and will be reflected in your Pathway Plan. We have a guide to costings to help you to manage this and encourage you to buy second-hand when this is safe and appropriate, e.g., coffee tables, bedside cabinets, wardrobes. We have a handy guide to suggested costings for various items of furniture which we will
share with you.

When you move into your first accommodation as a care experienced adult, you may receive a one-off payment of up to £200 to purchase essential items such as bedding, cutlery etc.

Remember: When most young people leave home to live independently, they cannot always afford everything they need straight away and cannot always afford to buy everything new. Your savings are there for you to use in your transition to independence and into later adulthood.

You may receive a £100 gift voucher on your 18th birthday and a £30 gift voucher on your 19th, 20th and 21st birthday if we know how to contact you.

As a ‘former relevant’ young person in education or training, the Care Experience Service may be able to provide you with funding towards a holiday. This will be agreed as part of your Pathway Planning process. Please note, this grant is discretionary and payable up to a maximum of £200 and you are allowed one request per year. Please discuss with your Personal Advisor how you can access the holiday grant. This may be linked for example to a school or college or university trip or could be used to ensure you have the essentials you need for a trip you are planning with your friends, or carers or educational provider.

You may receive a £30 yearly festive grant to celebrate one significant religious or
cultural event if we are in touch with you.

We want you to be happy and healthy, and will encourage you to take part in social and leisure activities. If there are specific activities you are interested in, and which promote your mental wellbeing, we may be able to pay for these – you will need to speak to your Personal Advisor about other options.

If you need support with budgeting, being independent, banking and borrowing ‘MyBank’ offer money management sessions. The Money Works programme maps into a range of accredited life skills, money management and employability certificates. If you attend the full programme, you can also qualify for a Level 1 Personal Money Management accreditation.

You can find out more about MyBank here: www.mybnk.org

Martin Lewis has a trusted and trustworthy website: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ where you can find lots of advice, financial support and information.

Child Trust Funds were set up by the Government for young people born between 2002 and 2011. The Share Foundation www.sharefound.org (registered charity no. 1108068), has operated the Department for Education’s savings/investment schemes for looked after children and young people since 2012, during which time it has benefited over 175,000 young people. Its analysis over the past three years (2018 – 2021) has shown that very large numbers of families and young people generally are unaware of their Child Trust Fund accounts, particularly among the most disadvantaged (those in receipt of Child Tax Credit). We can support you to access this fund if you were born between 2002 and 2011.

If you have been in foster care you may also have had savings built up for you by your foster carers. We will support you to access this if you haven’t been given this money at 18.

You are entitled to a ‘Sure Start Maternity Grant’ of £500 from the Department of Work and Pensions if you are on benefits to buy essentials for when your first baby is born. You can talk to your Personal Advisor and midwife about these grants and other support that might be available to you.

You will be able to get free NHS dental care in the UK while you’re pregnant and for a year after the baby is born.

In England, you’re entitled to free prescriptions while you’re pregnant and for a year after the baby is born.

If you choose to access training or education as a parent we can support you to find out what child care support is on offer from your employer, training  provider, college or university. Your Personal Advisor can provide support to you if you are struggling to identify childcare support.

Remember: All three year olds are entitled to free nursery hours from Early Years Services. In some areas they also offer free provision for two year olds.

A staying put arrangement is where you remain by agreement in your foster
placement or your placement provider past your 18th birthday. This decision is made
with you and your Social Worker/s, foster carer, placement staff and Personal Advisor before you are 18. You contribute towards the costs of ‘staying put’ as you would with any other accommodation.

Some supported accommodation schemes have 24 hour support, meaning staff sleep in overnight, whereas others have staff available during the day, with an ‘oncall’ service available off site. You would be placed into one that best meets your need, and with your agreement. Examples of supported accommodation providers in Torbay are the Foyer and Young Devon. You contribute towards the costs of the supported accommodation as you would with any other accommodation.

You may also be able to access supported accommodation via Adult Services and/or the Community Mental Health Team. You will have a Care Act assessment to identify your needs to access this type of accommodation.

This can be a secure and long-term option for some of our care experienced adults above the age of eighteen, and we will always encourage you to apply for this option.
Locally this is through Devon Home Choice, and if you are a care leaver you can register and back-date it to your 16th birthday.

This can be an important step for care experienced adults, as it allows you to gain independence without living completely on your own. It is also often cheaper, and we can help you find the best options available through our long-standing relationships with landlords in the community.

If you plan to go to university, the Care Experience Service will work in partnership with you and your University to identify the most suitable accommodation. During the summer break, when you are not at university, we may be able to help you find somewhere to live during this time.

Although the financial support we provide covers the academic year, we may be able to contribute to any additional rent costs you may have during the semester and summer breaks. This will be agreed before you go to University.

We understand that sometimes there may be situations when you may need emergency accommodation. We can help you to access short term or emergency accommodation in urgent situations via our Housing colleagues. We want to reduce the numbers of care-experienced adults having to access emergency accommodation, and are working hard with our colleagues in Housing, supported lodgings, and families (where this is appropriate) to make this a reality.

If you think you could become homeless for any reason, please let us know as soon as possible, as we can work to try to prevent this happening, and / or you going into emergency accommodation. Our team can submit a ‘Duty to Refer’ up to 56 days before you become homeless, which acts to give our Housing colleagues notice of you potentially becoming homeless. As a care experienced adult you are seen as a Housing priority until you are 25, although this does not mean that you will automatically be given somewhere to live.

If you decide to return to your family home, support could be available in addition to the support from your Personal Advisor, and possibly from Housing or Adult Social Care for example. If this happens, we will want to ensure there is a back-up plan in case you need one.

Many young people get their first fully independent home through the private rented market. We will help you to talk with letting agents and landlords, and will support you as much as you need. We have housing partners in Torbay who can also help to make sure that the property you rent is safe and secure, and is up to a certain standard. We will work with you to ensure you are ready for the responsibility of your first tenancy from the age of 16, as private rented is not right for everyone.

We will still provide advice and guidance as required and agreed in the Pathway Plan. It is likely your landlord will require a deposit and rent in advance before they will agree to a tenancy. If you are over eighteen and assessed as being ready for a tenancy, we will support you to access rent deposit or ‘Bond’ schemes through the
Housing Department, designed to help you save for your second or next deposit.

We can also help to support you by contributing to your first deposit and your first month’s rent. Prior to agreeing this through your pathway planning and a funding request to our Panel, we will explore with you what your financial position looks like,
to ensure that the properties you are looking for match your income and do not leave you in the difficult position of trying to meet the demands of a rent which is too high for you, on an ongoing basis. This will form part of the work we do with you about how you maintain a tenancy.

Council tax exemption scheme for care experienced young people
Any Torbay care experienced young person aged 18-25 who lives within the Council’s boundaries and is liable to pay Council Tax will be helped to apply for a council tax exemption. If you live outside Torbay, we may pay your council tax on your behalf to the local authority where you live. Your Personal Advisor will help you with the application to be exempted from council tax payment.

When you leave care and you are assessed as being ready to live independently, you may be eligible for a Setting Up Home Allowance (previously known as Leaving Care allowance) of £2000, which your Personal Advisor will help you apply for through the Social Fund.
This allowance is to provide you with furniture or equipment when moving into
independent, permanent housing and will be reflected in your Pathway Plan.

When you move into your first accommodation as a care experienced adult, you may receive a one-off payment of up to £200 to purchase essential items such as bedding, cutlery etc.

Remember: When most young people leave home to live independently they cannot always afford everything they need straight away, and cannot always afford to buy everything new. Your savings are there for you to use in your journey to independence and into later adulthood.

The Care Experience Team can support you to access universal emergency assistance, from Housing, DWP (Department of Work and Pensions), and other relevant agencies including your utilities provider.

You will be expected to contact the Care Experience Team for this support, and as soon as possible so we can ensure your emergency doesn’t become any more serious.

If you are not eligible for emergency assistance, you could receive up to a £100 over the course of a single year, which would follow a ‘Needs Assessment’, if you have no other way of supporting yourself. This will be at the discretion of the Care Experience Team, and will be used as the last resort. It is likely this will be used to buy food or pay utility bills for you.

If you ask for emergency assistance regularly you may be asked to show us your bank statements so we can support with this process.

In the first year of living independently, we will pay your water bill and TV license.

We will pay your Council Tax from 18 to 21 years. If you are struggling financially we will complete an assessment of your finances, and if you are in need will consider paying your Council Tax up to the age of 25.

We are working hard to increase availability of apprenticeships in the Council, and will regularly send out emails from our contact4careleavers@torbay.gov.uk email to inform you of local and national apprenticeships, job opportunities and internships. If you’re not receiving these emails, let us know and we’ll add your email to this group – your email address is kept confidential to you.

We have good links with the DWP and often have excellent opportunities sent to our team from local employers. Talk to your Personal Advisor about these opportunities and we can support you to get the job you want.

If you are in education or training, your college will let you know if you are eligible for a 16–19 Bursary. A bursary is money provided to help you to complete your course, e.g. getting the bus to and from college, buying a laptop if you need it for your course, or other course equipment like overalls or hairdressing scissors. Your Personal Advisor can support you to complete the application, e.g. help you get ID documents together.

You may be entitled to receive a £150 support grant per financial year, but your attendance will usually have to be a minimum of 90% per academic year.

If you have passed exams, completed a course/training, accomplished another significant achievement or coped with a challenging situation, you may be entitled to a reward grant. Decisions on reward grants are made by considering your individual circumstances and achievements.

You could also be entitled to £20 per week incentive payment if you are in education or training. You will need to evidence / provide proof that you are attending your course to your Personal Advisor. You won’t get incentive payments if you get a college bursary.

If you are in education or training you could get financial help with travel costs during your term time and some fares for family contact, leisure and cultural activities. You would need to provide information about your costs and circumstances to your Personal Advisor in advance so we can plan for this.

We want you to be able to continue your education or training, or to find work when you become cared experienced and transition into adulthood. Below is a summary of the support available to you. Talk to your Social Worker or Personal Advisor to find out more.
We would support you getting a job to supplement income as a student if this would not have a negative effect on your studies.

Support can include:
Your Personal Advisor keeping in touch with you and reviewing your Pathway Plan to ensure you are getting the support you need.
Assistance with some expenses for education, training and employment if needed, which may include help with purchasing industry-specific clothing for example.
Income Support and Housing Benefit should be available if you have been cared for and remain separated from your family and are in:
Full time further education – this is up to A-level standard or equivalent, or in direct training for 12 hours a week or more.
• Income Support and Housing Benefit should continue to be paid until the end of the academic year that you turn 21.
• In exceptional circumstances, we may be able to make a contribution towards course workbooks, field trips, special equipment or materials, clothing for work experience or job interviews.

We will support you from 21 to 25 if this is what you would like.
• An example of this might be that you want to get back into education or training, and that this is agreed as part of your Pathway Plan. We will support you for the duration of your course, which may include applying for charitable grants and funding, you combining work and study, and considering if you are eligible for any funding from an employer.
• If we do provide you with support and guidance after 21, we will also provide you with access to a Personal Advisor who will update your Pathway Plan with you and keep in touch.

Support related to attending university is dependent on eligibility. The information below provides some information but please also talk to your Social Worker or personal Advisor:
• You must have completed BTEC level 3 or A-levels and be enrolled on a course of higher education, which includes first degree and higher education qualifications that are over twelve hours per week of study, including some distance learning courses.
• You must commence the course of higher education prior to your 25th birthday and have confirmation of your student loan. If you were previously seeking asylum, you must also have confirmation of your immigration status for the duration of your course.
• Your Personal Advisor will support you with this decision if you would like them to.

• Your Personal Advisor will review and update your Pathway Plan and keep in touch with you.
• We may provide you with an education bursary of £2,000 if this is not available through your university. We will support you to access all possible loans, bursaries etc. that are available to you. Any bursary usually covers the duration of the whole course. This would be paid to you in instalments over the course of your degree programme, spread over a maximum of four years.
• We may pay a top-up amount to assist with your accommodation costs whilst at university. An assessment would be carried out to calculate the amount based on your circumstances and is up to £100 per week.
• We may be able to help you with up to £300 (per academic year) to buy books and materials. If your course requires it, we may be able to help you with a grant to buy a laptop in your first year of study up to £500.
• If you decide at the end of the first year you are on the wrong course, we may provide an additional year’s funding for you to change to another course. You would only receive four years funding in total.
• If you are unsuccessful in a year of your education, financial support would be re-assessed in your Pathway Plan. A maximum of one year’s additional financial support may be provided.

If there is any disagreement about your attendance, your Personal Advisor will ask you to provide a letter of attendance from your Higher Education Institution / University). If you are not attending your course as set out in your Pathway Plan, we may withhold payment of any bursary and other financial support provided by Torbay.
Where you have been paid but decide not to attend, we would ask for the money to be repaid.

There may be other sources of additional funding that you can use for financial support, including seeking part-time employment, student loans, grants and hardship grants. Many universities offer a Care Leavers Bursary or financial support through the ‘Access to Learning’ fund. Your Personal Advisor can discuss these with you.

We can continue to offer you advice and guidance, if you want it, up until you are 25, in relation to employment, education or training.
However, when you have completed your university course and if you do not have paid work, you will be expected to claim benefits, unless you are considering going on to a post-graduate course.
If you would like to go on to complete a post graduate course, we can offer you support and guidance to help identify financial support for you to continue your education and will advise you how to access this. We may pay additionally one years’ support as identified above.

If you would like to access training or education you should find out what child care support is on offer from your employer, training provider, college or university.
Remember: All three year olds are entitled to free nursery hours from Early Years Services. In some areas they also offer free provision for two year olds.

We understand that being taken into custody can be a stressful experience and when you are approaching the end of your sentence, you may be worried about where you will live and what you will do next.
You will have access to your Personal Advisor whilst you are in custody up to the age of 25 if you choose. While you are in custody, we may provide you with a level of financial help up until you are 21, if the prison agrees to this and it is in your best interests. Any benefit payments would be stopped, but your claim would stay active and in place ready for your release.
There are education, training and employment opportunities to explore with your Personal Advisor and staff in custody.
Your PA will liaise with the HMP and Probation to support your release and support options. For young people on a longer sentence, HMP prisons will liaise with the Care Experienced team months before your release to start planning your release.
We will continue to visit you virtually or face to face, linking in with you and the HMP to agree this.

Our ‘offer’ to care-experienced young people and adults, from the Children Family Health Devon (Children in Care / CIC) Nurse team.
The Children and Family Health Nurse Team works with children and young people who are ‘care-experienced’. They can help care experienced young people and cared for children with support, health advice and signposting to health services that are right for them.
We will treat you with respect and understanding, and as an individual.
Our Nurses also work with other professionals such as Personal Advisors, Participation teams, voluntary organisations and other partner agencies.
Our Nurses offer yearly Health Reviews up until the age of 18 years. It is your right to have a health review every year.
Health reviews are an opportunity to talk to a qualified Nurse about any health issues or worries, and get advice and support.
Your confidentiality is always respected during these talks, and the Nurse will discuss with you what information can be included in your Personal Health Plan. This will be developed with you and is designed to meet your health needs.

When you are 16, you will be given a health passport. This is a small booklet which outlines your immunisation history and other relevant health information. It also provides a wide range of useful health information including how to find other health services. The Health Passport should form part of your Pathway Plan.

17+ years: preparing for adulthood: The Nurses can discuss how to become more
independent in looking after your own health needs e.g. how to book a GP appointment or collect a prescription. They can also help to get you any support you might need and be eligible for from adult health services.

Final statutory health review: when you are 17 you will be offered your last health review. The Nurse will ensure that you have our contact details and know how to contact us if you require support or advice after you are 18, or if you need a new health passport.

18+ years: The Nurse team will send you a letter just before your 18th birthday which provides you with our contact details and an offer of health advice and support throughout your adult life.

If you give your consent to our Nurses team they can talk with your GP in cases of emergency. This consent can be added to your Pathway Plan.

Most of the care experienced nursing team is trained in the C-Card scheme, and can support you to access free condoms and services that are related to your sexual and reproductive health.

You may be eligible for free eye tests and vouchers towards glasses/contact lenses
if you are:
• Age 16 to 18 and in full time education
• Receiving certain benefits, such as Universal Credit
• on a low income and have a Health Credit Certificate (known as HC2 or HC3 certificate)

Advice and support can be provided about prescription fees but we are not able to pay for the costs of prescriptions for you to get medication. However you are eligible for free prescriptions if you are:
• age 16 to 18 and in full time education
• receiving certain benefits, such as Universal Credit
• pregnant nor have had a baby in the last 12 months (you will need an exemption certificate from your GP)
• receiving treatment in hospital

We want to work with you to help you to be an active member of society, and can help you by:
– Helping you to register to vote.
– Supporting you to find information on groups and clubs you may wish to join.
– Sharing information with you about voluntary work.
– Listening and taking account of your views about how we support you.
– Supporting you to join the Cared For Community or The Circle (up to 18) and ‘Your Voice’ Forum (16 – 25)
– Asking you about your views in our surveys and taking account of what you say.
– Asking you to be on an interview panel when we recruit new social care staff.
– Recognising and celebrating your achievements in the Annual Awards Ceremony
– Having a member of the ‘Your Voice’ Forum on the Corporate Parenting Board so that senior leaders can hear feedback about the service directly from a care experienced adult.