NLCBF hosted its first parliamentary event this week, giving MPs and members of the House of Lords the chance to hear directly from care experienced young people. Shaun Davies, MP and YPBMF’s Victoria Odude co-chaired the event.
YPBMF Legends Share Their Experiences
YPBMF Legends Mark, Reece & Dyllan shared key messages from the In Their Own Words reports, highlighting the key local and national changes members of the Young People Benchmarking Forum are asking for.
“It was such an amazing day and the experience of a lifetime, I’m still in awe and shock I’m not going to lie! I feel so privileged to be involved with this! It has been amazing and let’s hope In Their Own Words reports now all gets to the heart of government!” – Mark, YPBMF Legend
“The opportunity to co-host with MP Shaun Davies in Parliament alongside YPBMF was a pleasure and a highlight I will be proud of, it was an inspiring and motivational event.” – Victoria Odude, YPBMF Steering Group Representative
Commitment to Action: Pledges Made
We then called upon MPs, Members of the House of Lords, and representatives from leaving care charities to pledge their future actions.
The Call for a National Offer Gains Momentum
We welcomed the Children’s Minister, Janet Daby and listened as she outlined how the government is improving support for care experienced young people through the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. We also heard from Lord Stephen McCabe who reiterated our call for a national offer for care leavers.
Matt Clayton, NLCBF Chair, called for a national offer for care leavers. He emphasized the need to address barriers that Local Authorities cannot overcome alone. Similarly, Catch22’s Christina Duru reaffirmed Catch22’s support for a national offer and strongly advocated for the recognition of care experience as a protected characteristic.
“It was fantastic to host this event in the heart of Parliament and for MPs to hear directly from care experienced young people. We need a national offer for care leavers, which will really support the work happening across local authority leaving care teams and it was good to be able to make this case, as the Children’s Wellbeing Bill is going through parliament. I look forward to us holding more events like this in the future. The highlight of the event was hearing directly from those care experienced young people who spoke so powerfully about changes that are needed.” – Matt Clayton, NLCBF Steering Group Chair
Our Thanks
We extend a huge thank you to Shaun Davies MP and his team for supporting us with this event. We would also like to thank Barclays Lifeskills, whose partnership with Catch22 made the event possible.
