The next steps in Wiltshire’s £12m supported accommodation plan have been agreed

Plans to offer supported accommodation to young people who have been in care or asylum seekers have taken a step forward.

Wiltshire Council has agreed to start looking for housing providers for 68 young people.

It comes under a £10.6m investment which was announced in February. A further £1.6m has also been agreed to provide residential children’s homes for children with complex needs.

Cabinet member for children’s services Laura Mayes said: “This accommodation means more young people can stay in Wiltshire, close to their communities, friends and support networks established with council services.”

She added: “This continuity is key for young people to be successfully independent in terms of their health, wealth and emotional well-being.”

Currently, there are 340 young people in the county who have experienced the situation in care, including those seeking asylum and those with disabilities.

At a meeting on May 7, councilors agreed that two new procurement processes would begin to find Ofsted-registered accommodation providers on a five-year contract with the option to extend for a further five years.

Ms Mayes said the investment was part of a “precautionary approach to the council’s finances”, investing money now to save on higher costs in the future from “expensive private and out-of-county placements”.

Wiltshire Council has a ‘corporate parent’ role with legal obligations to support young people with care experience, as well as a legal obligation to provide homes for unaccompanied young people seeking asylum.

There are currently 96 care-experienced young people in the Wiltshire Council area living in supported accommodation, of which 57 are young people seeking asylum.