Section 2 Local offer for care leaversI1

A local authority in England must publish information about—

For the purposes of subsection (1), services which may assist care leavers in, or in preparing for, adulthood and independent living include services relating to—

Information required to be published by a local authority under subsection (1)(c) includes information about the authority’s arrangements for—

Information published for the purposes of subsection (2A)(c)(i) must include information about the authority’s arrangements for early intervention to prevent former relevant children aged under 25 from becoming homeless.

Where it considers appropriate, a local authority in England must publish information about services for care leavers offered by others which the local authority has power to offer as a result of its functions under the Children Act 1989.

Information required to be published by a local authority under this section is to be known as its “local offer for care leavers”.

A local authority must update its local offer for care leavers from time to time, as appropriate.

Before publishing its local offer for care leavers (or any updated version) a local authority must consult relevant persons about which of the services offered by the local authority may assist care leavers in, or in preparing for, adulthood and independent living.

In this section—

• “care leavers” means—

  1. (a)

     eligible children within the meaning given by paragraph 19B of Schedule 2 to the Children Act 1989;

  2. (b)

     relevant children within the meaning given by section 23A(2) of that Act;

  3. (c)

     F4former relevant children aged under 25;

  4. (d)

     persons qualifying for advice and assistance within the meaning given by section 24 of that Act;

• F5“former relevant child” has the meaning given by section 23C(1) of the Children Act 1989;

• “local authority in England” means—

  1. (a)

     a county council in England;

  2. (b)

     a district council;

  3. (c)

     a London borough council;

  4. (d)

     the Common Council of the City of London (in their capacity as a local authority);

  5. (e)

     the Council of the Isles of Scilly;

  6. (f)

     a combined authority established under section 103 of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009;

• “relevant persons”, in relation to a local authority, means such care leavers and other persons as appear to the local authority to be representative of care leavers in its area.