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A deepening crisis in children’s social care has seen unregistered homes charging local authorities as much as £30,000 per week for a child, according to a concerning national assessment. Reports indicate that an astonishing nine out of ten councils across England are resorting to placing vulnerable children in these unregulated settings.
The findings, brought to light in a comprehensive report, reveal a severe shortage of suitable places in properly registered homes, despite the overall number of care homes reaching a historic high. The chief inspector of the relevant oversight body, Sir Martyn Oliver, has condemned the situation, labeling it an “ongoing national scandal.”
Sir Martyn emphasized that a “strong profit motive” is distorting the entire system, leading providers to establish care homes in regions where property is cheaper, irrespective of actual local demand for services. For instance, 26 percent of children’s homes are located in the North West of England, yet only 18 percent of looked-after children reside there. “The rapid growth in the number of homes masks very significant problems with location, affordability and suitability,” Sir Martyn explained.
This scarcity of legitimate placements has fostered a clandestine market of illegal care homes, where the “exorbitant fees” are commonplace. Over the past year, authorities initiated 870 investigations into these settings, confirming 680 were operating without proper registration. Running an unregistered children’s home is a criminal offense.
Currently, the regulatory body is limited to issuing warning letters and lacks the power to levy fines, though this is expected to change with new legislation under the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill. Millenium TV has learned that the financial burden on councils is immense, with overall spending on children in care homes skyrocketing from £3.9 billion in 2015-16 to £8.1 billion in 2023-24.
Sir Martyn described this financial strain as “a crisis,” noting that council budgets are struggling to keep pace with “spiralling costs.” He urged that “the government must work with local authorities to drive out all use of unregistered children’s homes.”
The Local Government Association echoed these concerns, stating that the “astronomical cost” of children’s homes diminishes funds available for crucial early intervention services. A spokesperson for the association highlighted the profound worry that “in many cases, a lack of choice means provision is not fully meeting children’s needs,” stressing the critical need for all sectors to collaborate to ensure adequate and appropriate care.
Dr. Mark Kerr, chief executive of the Children’s Homes Association, attributed the proliferation of unregistered homes to a systemic failure, advocating for increased government support for children with complex and high-risk requirements. “Those ‘exorbitant fees’ are the crash-landing of a system that hasn’t been planned or funded properly,” he stated, adding, “If ministers want homes in different places, they need to change the planning rules, fix registration delays and set out a credible regional plan. At the moment, geography follows bureaucracy, not children’s needs.”
© Millenium TV
