Cost Of Children's Homes Doubles But Care Can Be Poor, Says Report

The costs of residential attraction for susceptible children successful England has astir doubled successful 5 years but galore children still do not person due care, says a study from nan independent nationalist spending watchdog.

The National Audit Office (NAO) says councils connected mean spent £318,400 connected each kid placed successful a children's location successful nan twelvemonth ending March 2024.

But these immense sums do not correspond worth for money, nan study concludes.

"I do not cognize wherever nan money is being spent," says Ezra Quinton, now 20, who recalls smashed windows and surgery solid successful nan showers of 1 of nan attraction homes he was placed in.

Ezra, who now useful for Become, a attraction leavers' charity, first went into attraction aged nine.

Originally from Greater Manchester, he remembers being moved to a different location each fewer months, often galore miles from wherever he primitively lived.

He thinks he had up to 60 different placements and though he has spent astir of his life successful Salford and Stockport, he has lived successful Wales, Liverpool, Crewe and Leeds.

His acquisition was considerably disrupted but he did execute C grades successful each of his GCSEs.

At 1 location nan windows were boarded up because of smashed windows.

"We were told to deterioration shoes if we wanted to ablution because they didn't cleanable up nan solid properly," he told BBC News.

The NAO study recovered rising costs were driven by a grounds number of children successful care, nan expanding complexity of their needs - and a profit driven market.

In 2023-24 councils spent £3.1bn connected residential placements, successful a marketplace nan study describes arsenic "dysfunctional".

It says councils are struggling to find capable due placements, arguing that this allows galore backstage attraction providers to cherry prime nan children they take, based connected really overmuch support they request and really overmuch profit this allows.

The study draws connected erstwhile investigation which showed nan 15 largest providers of children's homes making mean profits of much than 22%.

Report writer Emma Wilson says respective factors lend to rising costs but pinch nan overwhelming mostly (84%) of children's homes tally for profit: "It's really important to get correct that equilibrium betwixt proviso of disposable attraction location places and demand."

She wants nan Department for Education to do much to oversee a marketplace which she says is failing children successful residential care.

"The NAO study concludes that nan strategy of residential attraction for looked aft children is not delivering worth for money. On nan 1 hand, costs person doubled to complete 3 cardinal successful nan past 5 years, whilst galore children are not successful due settings," Ms Wilson told BBC News.

The study highlights really successful March 2024 2 thirds of children successful residential attraction were successful homes extracurricular their section authority and almost half (49%) were much than 20 miles from home.

The Department for Education said successful a statement: "Vulnerable children crossed nan state person agelong been fto down by years of drift and neglect successful children's societal care, which this study lays bare."

It added that it was "driving nan largest ever betterment of children's societal care" to "break nan rhythm of situation for children" - pointing to its planned recruitment of much family thief workers and caller authorities aimed astatine ending profiteering successful attraction homes.

Claire Bracey, interim main executive of Become, says nan study "is erstwhile again lifting nan lid connected nan extortionate profits that are being made from providing homes for our astir susceptible children".

"This marketplace nonaccomplishment is starring to nan astir unforgivable nonaccomplishment [for] nan futures of nan children successful our care...

"Children successful attraction can't wait. Urgent steps must beryllium taken now," she argues.

But immoderate small, privately run, children's homes insist they don't make excessive profits.

Sara Milner, who group up Cherry Wood children's location successful Surrey 4 years ago, aft a profession successful section authority care, says staffing accounts for 80% of costs.

"The fees we complaint nan section authority are reflective of our nonstop costs and we make mean margins... but evidently we person to beryllium capable to make profits to beryllium a viable business and to connection information for nan young people's early which is evidently really important erstwhile you're doing this type of work," she told BBC News.

With request for places high, she had besides hoped to put successful a 2nd children's home, but says existent pressures, including rising costs and difficulties recruiting staff, mean that has been delayed.

The authorities has already said it plans to limit nan profits backstage companies tin make, nevertheless nan Children's Homes Association, which represents providers paying taxation successful nan UK, argues that council-run homes tin successful truth beryllium much expensive.

"We cognize that charismatic information shows that section authority costs are higher," said nan association's main executive Mark Kerr.

"So if there's a worth for money mobility past nan independent assemblage arguably demonstrates much worth for money than section authorities," he added.