Commentary on Sections Part 6 - Looked after and Accommodated Children Section 110 - Support for category 3 young people
311.Section 110(1) requires a local authority to support a category 3 young person (to the extent that their well-being requires it) by contributing to expenses incurred by the young person to enable them to live near their place of work or where they will be seeking employment. In cases where a young person is or will be receiving education or training, the local authority must (to the extent that the young person's well-being and education or training needs require it) contribute to expenses incurred in living near the place where they are, or will be, receiving education or training and make a grant to enable the young person to study or train. The local authority must also do anything else it considers appropriate to support a category 3 young person. Assistance may be provided in kind or in cash.
312.Subsection (2) requires a local authority to monitor any post-18 living arrangement that is in place and to provide advice and support to maintain that arrangement (including providing financial support to the former foster parent).
313.If the category 3 young person is pursuing full-time further or higher education then subsection (6) requires the local authority to pay “the relevant amount” to that young person in accordance with their pathway plan. A local authority must provide accommodation during the vacation for a category 3 young person who is pursuing full-time further or higher education when term-time accommodation is unavailable. Section 116 contains a regulation making power for the Welsh Ministers to make supplementary provision about support for young persons in further or higher education, including, for example, the power to specify the “relevant amount” and to define terms such as “vacation”, or “full-time”.
314.If accommodation is not provided then the local authority must provide the young person with enough money to secure the accommodation needed. This section restates, in part, provision made in section 23C of the Children Act 1989.