Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the number of early deaths of care leavers.

I commissioned the Review of Early Care Leaver Deaths because I wanted the whole country to see the tragedies that I read every fortnight. I want to thank Ashley John-Baptiste and Clare Chamberlain for their important work on this review.

Their central finding is the same as my core focus for care reform – too many care experienced people entering adulthood lonely, without a tribe.

That's why I have set out a comprehensive programme to make enduring relationships the obsession of the care system.

As part of this, we have confirmed over £25 million of funding this financial year alone, to continue the rollout of Staying Close.

For a young person that means keeping somewhere settled to live rather than being moved along at 18, and having a network of people around them as they move into adulthood.

Staying Close runs in 47 local areas now and will become a national duty for local areas and run everywhere.