This boy is 16 and last week his foster parents told him he had to move out as they couldn't look after him anymore.

He was visited by someone from the council who said they had arranged for him to go and live somewhere he had never heard of. He was afraid that his mother wouldn't be able to take enough time off to come and see him and he couldn't meet up with his friend anymore.

’The woman from the council said I would be given an allowance and had to use the money to buy food and anything else I needed. As I left school in the summer I had to decide what I would do for the next two years that included some training. Apparently there are things called apprenticeships but I don't really know what I'm going to do or what's going to happen to me.’

 More than 11,000 children aged between 16 and 18 left care last year

They should be placed in supported accommodation close to where they lived before but often this is not possible. Even if the housing is local it may be unsuitable for other reasons: “it's scary, scary how someone like me who never did drugs or drank, and then I moved in and everything changed, you lose yourself somehow”.

If they move into a flat on their own they face isolation and loneliness, particularly if it is some distance away from the area they know, or somewhere they don't feel safe.

The first few months after leaving care are widely regarded as high risk. The young care leaver is suddenly faced with having to take care of themselves as previous support systems disappear.

25% of care experienced young people attempt suicide

They are more likely to suffer mental health problems, homelessness and poverty than their peers who haven't been looked after in the care system.

“When you're not in supported accommodation all you really have is your leaving care worker and mine isn't really around”.

What are their options if the leaving care worker “isn't really around”?

Being aware of the overwhelming demands of dealing with life without family support, several years ago I created a website with over 130 links to organisations and other sources of support and information to help these young people thrive, not just survive. Care Leavers Wanted Here

I gradually realised that a major flaw in the plan to get this information to care leavers was that they were very unlikely to have a phone.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, was concerned that these vulnerable young people were being left out of what he called “digital inclusion”, saying he believes access to the internet is “a basic human right”.

He therefore oversaw the establishment of a pilot scheme set up by Salford Council, in partnership with Virgin Media O2  and the National Databank (run by the Good Things Foundation which also provides recycled phones and laptops through the National Device Bank), that has been running successfully since 2021.

A caseworker involved with this scheme said,

“The young person who has never had a smartphone now has one, is able to access universal credit, search for work and training, stay in touch with their support network and family. Reducing isolation and financial hardship. This scheme has been a godsend for our young people, I can't speak enough about how needed it was and how valued it is.”

The success of this scheme shows that providing care leavers with a mobile phone is feasible and greatly improves the quality of their lives.

It should serve as a blueprint for every council in the country to enable them to fulfil their legal obligation to act as ‘corporate parent’ to the care leavers they are responsible for.

What parent (if they can afford it) would not provide their child with a phone if they were being moved somewhere and, overnight, had to take on the responsibility of looking after themselves.

At the moment, only a handful of local authorities provide care leavers with a phone – as well as Salford Council, Barnsley have donated 30 decommissioned council-owned phones, Staffordshire, Peterborough, Portsmouth, Telford and Wrekin offer a phone or reduced price SIM card, while a few others provide other digital packages with internet access.

Children in care are among the most vulnerable in society. If you believe local authorities have a duty to provide care leavers with a smartphone, and data, to give them the resources they need to cope with life on their own, please sign this petition.

If your local council isn't already making some provision, please consider contacting them and asking why they're not complying with their legal responsibilities (under the Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000).