The profile of children coming into care is changing. The number of teenagers in care rose by 21 per cent between 2012/13 and 2017/18, while the number of 0-5 year olds fell by 15 per cent. The reasons for this are varied, but feedback from councils indicates that child exploitation (both criminal and sexual) and rising numbers of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children is contributing to the increase. Older children are more likely to need accommodation in children’s homes, which are significantly more expensive than foster care, which, in itself, puts additional pressure on children’s service budgets as councils strive to give young people the right care for their needs.
The increasing need for children’s homes placements includes a rise in the number of children with complex or challenging needs. Councils report significant challenges in finding suitable regulated placements for these children resulting in increased use of unregulated placements.
The Government has announced plans to make unregulated placements for children under 16 illegal. As we set out in our response to the initial consultation, unless sufficiency of placements is significantly improved, concerns around the suitability of placements for children and young people will not be addressed.
We await the outcomes of a market study by the Competition and Markets Authority looking into the provision of looked-after children’s placements in both foster care and children’s homes. We are concerned about the recent trend of children’s social care provision ownership being increasingly consolidated into a small number of providers without market oversight, the influence of private equity on the ‘market’ and high levels of profit-making by the largest operating groups. These factors are limiting the ability of councils to shape provision and ensure sufficiency of placements for the benefit of the children in their care and we are unclear as to the impact of these developments on children’s experiences.
Recent children’s homes capital funding of £19.5 million over two years announced by the Department for Education (DfE), focussing on local authority led, match-funded schemes that can meet differing local needs, is welcome. We encourage an extension of this capital funding scheme, alongside additional core revenue funding, to assist in the development of further provision and support councils and providers to meet children’s needs.
While the introduction of national standards of accommodation for 16 and 17 year olds is welcome, we have highlighted there is a risk that the introduction of these will drive up the costs of provision as providers look to recoup costs. This happened when new regulations and quality standards were introduced in residential children’s homes several years ago. It is vital that the cost of implementing these reforms is not borne by councils.