The Government's announcement of a formal review into the deaths of care leavers is a significant moment for children's services. For local authorities, it is both a prompt to reflect on current practice and an early signal of the direction of travel for future legal duties. Here is what you need to know and what we would recommend doing now.

The announcement

On 16 April 2026, the Department for Education announced a review into the deaths of care leavers, to be led by social worker Clare Chamberlain and care-experienced author and broadcaster Ashley John-Baptiste. The review will examine young people's experiences and consider what more could have been done to support them. Findings are expected later in 2026, with lessons to be embedded into the Government's forthcoming Enduring Relationships Programme.

The scale of the problem

The statistics make for sobering reading. Care leavers represent approximately 1% of the population at ages 19–21 but account for around 7% of deaths in that age group - a strikingly disproportionate figure confirmed by GOV.UK. A major long-term peer-reviewed study by Murray et al. (2020), published in BMC Public Health and tracking over 353,000 individuals for up to 42 years, found that adults who had been in care were, at any given point, 70% more likely to die than those who had not. Excess mortality was largely attributable to self-harm, accidents, and mental and behavioural causes.

Importantly, official figures are likely to underestimate the true position. Coroners are not routinely informed of a young person's care status, and those who die whilst out of contact with their local authority may not be captured in the data at all. The problem is, in all likelihood, larger than the numbers suggest.

What is already changing

The review does not sit in isolation. The Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill (currently progressing through Parliament) proposes new duties on local authorities to provide 'Staying Close' support up to the age of 25, alongside new corporate parenting responsibilities for public sector bodies to consider the needs of care leavers when designing and delivering services. Local authorities should be planning for these changes now, rather than waiting for the Bill to receive Royal Assent.

Since December 2023, local authorities have also been required to notify care leaver deaths through the Serious Incident Notification system. Compliance with this requirement is likely to feature in the review's scrutiny.

Our view

We understand the pressures that local authority children's services teams are working under. Resources are stretched, demand is high, and the expectations placed on those responsible for looked after children and care leavers have never been greater. The dedication we see from professionals working in this area is considerable.

That is precisely why this review matters. It is not about apportioning blame, but about identifying where the system (rather than the individuals within it) can be strengthened. The transition from care to independence remains one of the most challenging periods to navigate, and care leavers often face it without the family networks and financial safety nets that their peers can draw upon.

We hope the review will recognise the genuine commitment that exists within local authorities, whilst also providing practical recommendations that help teams to deliver better outcomes with the resources available to them. In the meantime, we are here to support our local authority clients in thinking through what the review means for their services and how best to prepare.

Practical takeaways for local authorities

In advance of the review's findings, we would encourage local authorities to reflect on the following:

• Data and recording: Are all care leaver deaths being identified and notified through the Serious Incident Notification system? Are gaps in recording (particularly for those out of contact) being actively addressed?
• Maintaining contact: What steps are in place to engage care leavers who have disengaged? Corporate parenting responsibilities continue regardless of contact status.
• Mental health pathways: Are care leavers able to access timely and appropriate mental health support? Are referral pathways between children's and adult services functioning effectively?
• Transition planning: Is the move from care to independence adequately supported, including in relation to housing, finances, employment and relationships?
• Local learning processes: Where a care leaver has died, is there a robust local process for reviewing what happened and embedding lessons into practice?
• Corporate parenting culture: Is the authority's approach to corporate parenting genuinely reflected in practice across its services, and not only in the discharge of formal legal duties?

Conclusion

The government's review is a significant development for children's services law and practice. For local authorities, it is an opportunity to get ahead of forthcoming recommendations - and to demonstrate a genuine commitment to the young people they have a duty to support. How effectively the state fulfils its role as a corporate parent will, in time, be measured against what this review finds.