Summary
More than 11,000 young people aged 16-18 left local authority care last year. Many feel completely unprepared for the financial decisions they will have to make when they start living independently. What help is available to them and how much financial education are they given to help them navigate the complex world of rent, food bills, benefits and savings? Join Adam Shaw and a panel of guests. Email moneybox@bbc.co.uk or call 03700 100 444 from 1pm to 3.30pm on Wednesday 6 March. Standard geographic charges from landlines and mobiles will apply..
Guests: Leah Edwards, Head of services for care leavers and children in care, Wigan Council Sam Royston, The Children's Society Joe Shaw, young care leaver of the year 2018 Presenter: Adam Shaw Producer: Sally Abrahams
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy. |
| 0:05.4 | My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds. |
| 0:10.8 | The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that. |
| 0:17.5 | With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to |
| 0:22.4 | helping you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put |
| 0:28.3 | together by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life, |
| 0:35.0 | check out BBC Sounds. |
| 0:41.2 | BBC Sounds, music, radio, podcasts. |
| 0:45.5 | Welcome to the download of Moneybox Live, the program about your money. |
| 0:49.0 | And this week, it's all about the finances of care leavers. |
| 0:56.5 | There are around 96,000 children in the UK who are in care. Some stay in care for very short period, some for their whole childhood. The significant minority of them seem to have |
| 1:00.8 | little stability, even in care, having three or more placements or homes in a single year. |
| 1:06.4 | It varies a little bit across the UK, but in England you can leave care from the age of 16, |
| 1:10.7 | but even |
| 1:11.2 | then the local authority has a duty to support you in some form until you're 25 with someone |
| 1:17.5 | called a personal advisor. But despite rules which should ensure 16-year-olds have a pathway into |
| 1:23.0 | the wider world, many of the younger people we've spoken to feel they're very much left to fend for |
| 1:28.2 | themselves, and especially when it comes to finances, they can feel rather lost. Well, if you've |
| 1:34.3 | an experience to share about being in care, do get in touch right now. You can call us now on |
| 1:39.2 | 0-3700-100-444. That's 0-3700-100-444. You can email Moneybox at BBC.com. UK, or indeed you can tweet us at Moneybox. |
| 1:51.5 | But first, let's hear from Zara. She's now 20 and in her second year of university. She also works part-time, but leaving care for her, well, proved rather difficult. |
| 2:02.8 | I went into foster care when I was 15, and after two years I moved into support accommodation when I was 17, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.