PAC: How will govt fix the children’s care home system?
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a scrutiny session on the financial sustainability of children’s care homes.
Meeting details
The National Audit Office (NAO) has found that between ’20-’21 and ’23-’24, the number of children reported to Ofsted as placed in unregistered homes each year rose from 147 to 982. In March ’24, almost half of children in homes were placed more than 20 miles from their family home, and 14% in homes had three or more different placements in twelve months. The Department for Education (DfE) does not know how many children are in inappropriate care.
In a session first with experts and care sector representatives, and subsequently with the DfE, the PAC will scrutinise how the government will assure the performance of the residential care system, and the appropriateness of placements.
This is in light of the NAO’s findings that the private provider-led residential care market is not working, with local authorities competing for too few of the right places while providers charge higher fees. Likely topics for the session will explore what needs to change, and what government can do to bring down the number of children in unregistered homes.