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The Joint Committee on Human Rights (JCHR) has called for wide-ranging reform of the children’s social care system, warning that current arrangements are failing to provide adequate support for children in care and care leavers and may have lifelong consequences.
In a report published on 27 August 2026, the Committee said the system should be easier for children and families to navigate, with improved complaints mechanisms and a greater focus on the longer-term impact of experiencing the care system.
Around 400,000 children in England are estimated to be in the social care system, including nearly 84,000 who are looked after by local authorities.
The Committee has called on the Government to fully incorporate the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into English law. It said this would provide a clear overarching framework for safeguarding the human rights of children in care while strengthening the accountability of public authorities responsible for supporting them.
The report highlights concerns about the transition from care into adulthood, with care leavers describing a “cliff edge” when support networks come to an end. The Committee said the Government should consider extending support beyond existing age limits, particularly in relation to housing, health, education and employment.
The JCHR also highlighted the importance of kinship care and called for greater support to enable children to remain within their family networks. It welcomed the Kinship Allowance Pilot but said families could remain without adequate support while the scheme is being rolled out and evaluated.
The Government should therefore consider interim measures, including financial allowances and access to parental leave, while a longer-term approach to supporting kinship carers is developed.
The report also identifies significant difficulties faced by disabled children and their families in accessing children’s social care. The Committee called for comprehensive statutory guidance covering children’s social care law to clarify the rights and responsibilities of disabled children, their families and local authorities.
It also called for national criteria for the provision of care to disabled children, arguing that the absence of consistent criteria has contributed to a postcode lottery in access to support.
The Committee raised particular concerns about accommodation for children in care. It said a lack of placement capacity had contributed to children being placed in expensive and inadequate accommodation, sometimes far from their existing support networks, and called for the urgent end to the use of unregulated spaces.
Among the measures proposed are increased funding to enable local authorities to expand placement capacity, stronger inspections and action to address delays in registering children’s homes.
The JCHR said the problems identified by its inquiry were preventing children and young people from fully exercising rights including the rights to private and family life, a safe home, freedom from discrimination and to have their voices heard.
Committee Chair Lord David Alton said evidence from children in care, care leavers and experts indicated that people were too often “falling through the gaps” in the system. He highlighted the difficulties faced after leaving care, including the ending of support, increased likelihood of entering the criminal justice system and discrimination.
Lord Alton also described the difficulties experienced by disabled children and their families in navigating the system as “profoundly troubling”, calling for clear and consistent standards to establish entitlement and responsibilities.
On accommodation, he said the Government should ensure local authorities had sufficient capacity to provide safe, secure and cost-effective placements and referred to the Committee’s finding that unlicensed and illegal homes cost taxpayers £353 million a year.
To read the Report in full, click here.
