Local authorities urged to adopt a “whole council approach” and support care leavers through procurement

Developed by the Care Leaver Covenant in partnership with international law firm Trowers & Hamlins, the Social Value Toolkit is designed to assist councils in the creation of social value objectives secured through procurement processes to support care leavers.

The Care Leaver Covenant, funded by the Department of Education, tackles the disadvantages that young people aged 16-25 face when leaving care and helps them to live independently.

Working with a range of organisations in the private, public and voluntary sectors, who sign up to the Covenant, tangible opportunities for care leavers are created, including employment, education and training, safety and security, health, financial independence and independent living.

While many local authorities already incorporate social value requirements into procurement, very few specifically link social value to supporting care leavers – something the Covenant would like to see all local authorities doing.

“For young people who have grown up in the care system, leaving care and striking out on their own can be a massively challenging time,” said Matthew Gordon, Chief Executive of Spectra, delivery partner of the Care Leaver Covenant.

“As corporate parents to care leavers, local authorities have a responsibility to make sure that these young people are as ready for the next stage of their lives as they possibly can be and continue to get support along the way.

“The toolkit will help local authorities take a whole council approach, so it is not just the responsibility of children’s services, but includes their executive officers, social services, community investment, health, housing, corporate services and procurement teams in the creation of social value objectives and to use procurement to increase opportunities available for care leavers.”

The toolkit also provides guidance on the wording councils can use to encourage bidders for local authority contracts to incorporate social value initiatives into their bids.

Leeds City Council, Stafford Borough Council, Wolverhampton Council, Doncaster Council, Lewisham Council and Somerset County Council are the first local authorities to champion the Covenant and adopt the toolkit with a further 10 coming on board, including Telford & Wrekin Borough Council.

Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council, who are amongst the first local authorities to adopt the toolkit, said:

“Just having access to the same kind of opportunity and support that their peers have could make a huge difference to many young people leaving care.

“It can have a really positive impact on preparing them to live independently, achieve financial stability, give them practical and emotional support, help them to establish stability in their lives and be able to achieve their ambitions.

“I’m proud to be the first local authority champion of the Care Leaver Covenant and, I’d encourage other local authorities to sign up to the Covenant and adopt the toolkit to help care leavers navigate a path into further and higher education, employment and training and ultimately be able to live independently.”

Shirley Reynolds, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People, Education and Lifelong Learning at Telford & Wrekin Borough Council said:

“I’m always looking at innovative ways of expanding our offer for care leavers. As corporate parents we know that support does not, nor should it, end when our children leave care.

“The procurement toolkit is our opportunity to empower care leavers and ensure all functions of the Council have their development, nurture, and independence in mind.

“Importantly, when OFSTED rated our Council ‘Outstanding’ this year, they noted the importance of ensuring parity across all Council services to enable care leavers to have access to equal opportunities and personal support.

“Our ambitious programme to protect, care and invest in our Borough will crucially unlock opportunities within our procurement process giving care leavers new skills, work opportunities and importantly financial independence.”

Trowers & Hamlins, who co-authored the Social Value Toolkit, believe local authorities are perfectly placed to achieve a wide range of Covenant-focussed outcomes and can use their procurement capacity to lever significant social value impact for all their care leavers.

Partner Rebecca Rees said:

“We have worked closely with the Covenant to highlight in the Guidance that public procurement procedures do not have to be a barrier to achieving effective and impactful social value outcomes for care leavers.  There are lots of case-studies and tips to help local authorities navigate their regulatory environment to the benefit of their care leavers.”

How ENGIE IS putting care leavers at the heart of its social value

Leading energy and regeneration specialist ENGIE are committed to creating social value for the communities in which it works.

ENGIE signed up to the Care Leaver Covenant in 2018, launching a pilot scheme to support care leavers in Leeds, as a part of an ongoing responsive repairs and maintenance project on behalf of Leeds City Council.

As well as offering work placements, mentoring and apprenticeships, ENGIE also recognises the need to offer practical support to care leavers moving into their own home for the first time. This includes workshops and further help with decorating, home maintenance, DIY, garden clearance and cookery classes.

During 2019, ENGIE supported 19 care leavers in Leeds and worked with Manchester Council, Sheffield Council and Wolverhampton Council to recruit four young people – two joiners, a bricklayer and a business administration role.

Care leaver Katie, whose home benefited from a refurbishment by the ENGIE team, said:

“I can’t thank ENGIE enough for giving my new home a complete makeover as when I first saw the flat, I was a bit overwhelmed as I knew I wouldn’t be able to afford to get it decorated in the foreseeable future. I have now moved in and am absolutely over the moon with my first home since leaving foster care.”

The pilot has been such a success in Leeds, it is now being rolled out to other local authorities ENGIE works with, including Manchester City Council, Birmingham City Council, Rotherham Council and several London boroughs in the pipeline.

Claire Preston, Social Value Manager for ENGIE’s Places and Communities Division and UK sector-based champion for the Care Leaver Covenant, said:

“Giving back to the local community in which we work is at the heart of everything we do at ENGIE and I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved with this pilot scheme in Leeds.

“We have seen the genuine difference that social value makes in local communities, and our ambition to find trailblazing partnerships like the Care Leaver Covenant has helped us to positively change 40 people’s lives so far. We look forward to helping more care leavers make positive progress across the UK with our partners in the near future.”

Care leaver facts and stats

There are around 70,000 young people in care in the UK. Roughly ¾ predominantly in foster care and ¼ in Local Authority residential care

Around 10,000 leave care each year, becoming ‘care leavers’.

Around 40% of care leavers aged 19-21 are NEET

Only about 7% of care leavers begin university degrees

Roughly 25% of the male and female prison population are experienced.

Roughly 25% of the homeless population are care experienced

The Care Leaver Covenant in action

More than 200 organisations signed up to the Covenant, including Trowers & Hamlins, Barclays, Reed, Superdry, Amazon, ENGIE, PGL and Compass Group.

1,000 plus opportunities created for care leavers.

152 councils with Children Services departments to support the Covenant.

The Care Leaver Covenant, launched in October 2018, is funded by the Department for Education and delivered by Spectra, a social value agency based in Wolverhampton.

It was launched to tackle the disadvantages that young people leaving care face when they become independent adults. Around 10,000 young people leave care each year. Around 40% of care leavers aged 19-21 are NEET; 25% of the prison population are experienced.

Organisations in the private, public and voluntary sectors sign up to the Covenant and create practical, tangible offers and opportunities for care leavers relating to employment, education and training, safety and security, health, financial independence and independent living.

There are over 160 published offers on the Covenant’s bespoke app and website and more than 200 organisations have signed up to the Covenant.

Covenant signatories that are deemed to go above and beyond in their outreach to the care leaver community are called Signatory Partners, they include Amazon UK & Ire, Compass Group UK & Ire, Engie, Lendlease, Metro Bank and Tuckers Solicitors.