Summary
A report by the Public Accounts Committee in England reveals that hundreds of children in care are being placed in unregistered homes, which is against the law. These homes are not checked by regulators like Ofsted, leading to concerns about the safety and quality of care provided to these children. The government plans to introduce new laws to give Ofsted stronger powers to address this issue.
Key Facts
- Hundreds of children in England are in unregistered care homes, which is illegal.
- These homes are not inspected by Ofsted, a regulatory body responsible for quality and standards in care settings.
- Councils use unregistered homes due to a lack of available places in registered care homes.
- Unregistered homes can charge up to £30,000 per week for each child.
- New legislation plans to give Ofsted more power to fine unregistered care homes.
- The cost of children's residential care in England almost doubled to £3.1 billion by March 2024.
- Almost half of the children in care are placed more than 20 miles away from their original family homes.
- The government is working on recruiting more foster carers to reduce the need for residential care.
