A report by the Children’s Society has concluded that UK local authorities should provide financial education for young care leavers.
The Cost of Being Care-Free study examined the scale and quality of money lessons for young people leaving the care system. Participants of our Money Works sessions took part in a focus group, we supplied case studies of how our specialised sessions helped them transition to independent living and contributed to a special Westminster roundtable event.
MyBnk works in partnership with scores of UK Leaving Care Units and won the Leaving Care Award from Children & Young People Now magazine.
Findings include:
46% of local authorities do not provide money lessons. 28% use workshops, such as those provided by MyBnk. 12% says it offers 1-2-1 help.- 87% of care leavers say they can’t manage money, open bank accounts or deal with bills due to poor support.
- Young people tend to remain stuck in low paid jobs as training or further education risks regular income.
- A recommendation was made that care leavers should be exempt from council tax, one of the main debt drivers. North Somerset Council has recently done just this.
- Just 14% appeal any benefit sanction. 2,000 were effected last year.
We welcome these insights and are deepening our work in this vital area. Want to bring money and business to life for your young young people? Get in touch at info@mybnk.org.
