Town hall chiefs have vowed to extend full support to find a home for young care leavers who end up on the streets.

Cabinet bosses in Oldham have backed plans to support care leavers up to the age of 25 by deeming them as being in ‘priority need’ under homelessness law.

The council has also agreed that care leavers up to this age cannot be found ‘intentionally homeless’ – which normally means that the authority does not have a duty to provide them with permanent accommodation.

Under homelessness legislation, young people who were formerly in care aged 18-20 are automatically classified as being in ‘priority need’.

This means that if they become homeless there is a duty to provide temporary and potentially permanent accommodation.

But this is not guaranteed for care leaves aged up to 24, unless they are found to be ‘vulnerable’.

At a cabinet meeting on December 16, members voted to make sure young care leavers in Oldham are supported for a further four years.

Cabinet member for children’s services, Cllr Amanda Chadderton said: “I think we’ve seen over the last two years how seriously we take our role as corporate parents and how we’ve extended some benefits up to the age of 25 for our care leavers.

“This includes the free prescriptions which I believe we were the first in the country to do, discretionary council tax rates, and free bus passes as well.

“What this report seeks to do is to extend the principle of the homelessness legislation up to the age of 25 for our care leavers.

“So this will mean that none of our care leavers up to the age of 25 will be made intentionally homeless but also that they will become a high priority if they are homeless.”

Cabinet member for health, Coun Zahid Chauhan, added they were setting a ‘national example’ as a local council with regards to their support for care leavers.

Sam Coupe is part of the local Children in Care Council that helped develop the support package.

The 23-year-old said: “This extra support means a lot to care leavers. It’s good that the council is listening to us and taking our ideas on board.

‘When you leave care, it’s very daunting as you don’t have or earn much money. You have to live on a tight budget, so every little helps.”