Child care crisis ‘is a national scandal’

THOUSANDS of vulnerable children are being placed in unregulated care homes due to a shortage of places, an investigation has found.

Experts warned the ‘national scandal’ puts youths at greater risk of exploitation, including from drugs gangs and sexual predators.

The number of children in housing not checked by Ofsted has risen by almost a quarter in just two years, The Guardian said.

Data from more than 100 councils obtained via freedom of information requests found a 22 per cent increase from 4,814 in 2016-17 to 5,874 in 2018-19. Average placement costs ranged from £9,714 to £364,980.

Yvette Stanley, Ofsted’s national director for social care, warned: ‘With the lack of supply, some people with bad intentions are opening provisions to meet that need.’

Iryna Pona from the Children’s Society, a youth-focused charity, said: ‘Our research has shown that teenagers may be housed with vulnerable adults and be exposed to or groomed with drugs and alcohol. They may also go missing and be subject to physical violence and verbal abuse.’

Ann Coffey, former chairman of the all-party parliamentary group for runaway and missing children, called the situation a ‘national scandal’. She added: ‘The Government must act and make it unlawful... to place children in these illegal settings and Ofsted should take immediate action to close down these homes.’

The research highlights the rise of unregulated provision – sometimes called a ‘semi-independent placement’ – when a young person, usually over 16, is supported to live independently.

There is no legal definition of what care must be provided, and in some cases teenagers have been placed in boats or caravans.