MPs have warned of a “long road ahead” to improve the children’s social care sector amid rising need and a “severe” shortage of appropriate placements for young people. The Education Committee noted a steep increase in the number of looked-after children in England in the past decade, up by a fifth since 2014 to 83,630 in 2024.

The committee’s report also noted almost four in 10 (39%) care leavers aged 19–21 are not in education, training or employment, compared to 13% of all young people in that age group, while a third of care leavers become homeless within two years of leaving care.

Committee chairwoman Helen Hayes said  “The system that should be supporting our most vulnerable children is far too often abandoning them at a critical moment in their lives.”

The report’s publication on Thursday coincided with changes coming into effect which the Government said will give care leavers greater access to social housing. The Department for Education (DfE) announced more than £53 million would be invested in creating 200 new placements in high-quality council-run homes for the most vulnerable children including those who need to be prevented from running away or from harming themselves and others.