Yorkshire council concerned about soaring cost of places at private children's homes

Bradford Council has said the cost of providing vulnerable children with accommodation at privately-run care homes has “risen significantly above inflation”, after it spent more than £22m last year.

The local authority has become increasingly reliant on the owners of privately-run care homes to take in children over the last five years and seen the cost rise by 196 per cent.

In a new report, the Labour-run council said the price of places at these homes continues to rise above inflation, owing to a nationwide shortage and rising demand.

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It comes as the council is attempting to make significant improvements to its beleaguered children’s services department, which is responsible for making these placements, and reduce costs.

Bradford Council has become increasingly reliant on the owners of privately-run care homes to take in children over the last five years and seen the cost rise by 196 per cent.Bradford Council has become increasingly reliant on the owners of privately-run care homes to take in children over the last five years and seen the cost rise by 196 per cent.
Bradford Council has become increasingly reliant on the owners of privately-run care homes to take in children over the last five years and seen the cost rise by 196 per cent.

A budget of £134.1m has been set for the department this year, but the latest forecasts suggest that an extra £33.8m will be required.

The authority said it is struggling to balance the books because it is heavily reliant on agency social workers. Around one in four of its social workers are now agency staff and they cost £2m a month.

It also spent £22.2m on placing 176 children in privately-run care homes in 2021-22, up from £7.5m to place 75 children in 2017-18.

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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said a chronic shortage of care home places across the country has led to “elevated prices” and “significant profits” for private providers.

Between 2016 and 2020, the average weekly price of care at a children’s home rose from £2,977 to £3,830, while profits increased from £702 to £910 per placement, per week.

The CMA said councils are in an “inherently weak” position when negotiating prices, as they must make sure a placement is provided for every child, often under “considerable time pressure”.

But it added that there was no evidence to suggest “significant variations in quality” between privately-run care homes and council-run care homes.

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According to the CMA’s report, if the Government agrees to provide more funding to build council-run care homes, this could allowlocal authorities to “deliver services on an ongoing basis at a lowercost”.

In January, the Government decided that Bradford Council should be stripped of control over its children's services department, as it had failed to make signifcant improvements since being rated inadequate by the education watchdog Ofsted in 2018.

A not-for-profit trust, which is set up and owned by the council, will take over from April 1, 2023.

It will be chaired by Eileen Milner, the former executive director at the Care Quality Commission.