The 100-Year Life Health Education and Government
The UK government has committed to major reform of children’s care to stop private providers charging sky-high prices to strapped-for-cash councils.
In a series of changes announced by Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, large providers who run children’s homes in England will be required to disclose their finances and could face a legal limit on their profits.
The 15 largest children’s home providers are estimated to make average annual profits of 23 per cent, with overall local government spending on children’s care exceeding £7 billion in 2022-23.
A separate report by the children’s commissioner for England raised serious concerns over children being placed in illegal and unsafe accommodation – which can also cost the taxpayer millions.
Earlier this year, Tortoise reported that the care of a teenage girl, “Becky”, had cost one NHS trust £2.3 million. The 14-year-old had spent more than 15 months in a paediatric mental health facility under a deprivation of liberty order due to a lack of any available accommodation.
