Private companies running children’s homes are charging cash-strapped councils as much as £22,000 a week per child, it was claimed yesterday.
The staggering cost was revealed by Sharon Cooper, head of services for children in care at Warrington Council in Cheshire.
She said on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘When you’re faced with the prospect at five in the evening where you can’t find a home for a child who needs to come into our care unfortunately, you’re between a rock and a hard place.’
The bill for children in a care home is typically £3,800 a week – or £197,600 annually – according to the County Councils Network.
The Competition and Markets Authority highlighted the risk posed to children’s care services by private equity firms, which run six of the ten largest children’s home providers and the two largest foster care (file photo)
But Warrington Council’s chief executive, Professor Steven Broomhead, said: ‘We were recently quoted £22,000.
This is rare, but is no longer unheard of with external placements, especially when trying to place children with particularly complex needs.
‘On average, we are paying around £4,500 per week, with the current highest cost being just over £10,000.’
Yesterday, there were further concerns the number of children in care homes could rise by 36 per cent to 95,000 by 2025 putting ‘unprecedented pressure’ on local council budgets.
Last month, the Competition and Markets Authority highlighted the risk posed to children’s care services by private equity firms, which run six of the ten largest children’s home providers and the two largest foster care companies.
Private equity has been widely criticised for a culture of excessive debt and asset stripping while reaping huge profits and
