Suffolk County Council spends £17.7m on residential care for children as placements dwindle and costs soar

More than £17 million has been spent on residential care placements for children in Suffolk so far this year - nearly double the amount compared with two years ago, it has been revealed.

Meanwhile, hundreds of placements are out of county - with one in the USA between 2019 and 2022.

The figures, which show the number of children in care has remained relatively static despite a massive increase in spending, were secured following a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to Suffolk County Council.

The authority said Suffolk is struggling with a dearth of placements for children in care and grappling with soaring costs for provision.

It follows increased demand across the country, with the number of carers recruited unable to keep up with the volume of new cases entering care, it said.

Some of the 370 placements outside of Suffolk this year were with extended family or the council’s carers who do not live in the county, it said. They may also have been in specialist provision.

The FOI data revealed there have been 1,166 children in Suffolk in local authority care so far this year, with the county council spending £17,710,699 on residential care placements.

Placements out of county include 188 in Norfolk, 104 in Essex, 14 in Cambridgeshire, 10 in Kent, eight in West Midlands, six in Hertfordshire, five in Buckinghamshire, five in Greater London, five in Oxfordshire, five in Lincolnshire, three in Nottinghamshire, two in Durham, two in Gloucestershire, two in Leicestershire, two in Wales and two in Yorkshire.

There were also single placements in Devon, Greater Manchester, Hampshire, Lancashire, Northamptonshire, Rutland and Sussex.

Last year, there were 1,287 children in Suffolk in local authority care, with £16,461,437 spent on residential care placements and 394 placements out of county.

This compares to 1,249 in county council care in 2021, with placements costing £9,080,072 and 33 outside Suffolk.

A recent survey of councils nationally by the Local Government Association found the number of children’s social care placements costing £10,000 or more per week had risen in five years, with 120 such placements in 2018/19, compared to 1,510 in 2022/23.

Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, said the system nationally needed quick reform, as far too many children go into unsuitable placements that can’t meet their needs, including being sent hundreds of miles away from home or having to switch placements too often.

They called for urgent investment to create more placements, quicker implementation of social care reform programme, Stable Homes Built on Love, and public commitments from all the main political parties for wholesale reform of ‘this broken system’.

Iryna Pona, head of youth policy at The Children’s Society, said: "There is an urgent need for more local placements for children in care, who may be exceptionally vulnerable when moved away from their home areas, leaving them exposed to the dangers of exploitation or grooming.

"We want the Government to prioritise creating more local places that meet the needs of these children and to provide more investment in early intervention services to tackle the root issues at cause."

Asked why spending had rocketed over three years when the number of children had remained about the same, a Suffolk County Council spokeswoman said the unit cost of all provision had significantly increased due to higher costs associated with caring for children (the cost of living) and larger demand across the country.

On the hundreds of out of county placements, she said some children will be placed out of Suffolk, but close to the county borders and for some it will represent the best placement, for example for safety or where a foster carer is further away but can keep siblings together.

She said some of what they labelled as out of county were Suffolk Carers who lived outside the geographical border, and some were with independent fostering agencies but inside the Suffolk border.

She added that the US placement would be a child who has gone to live with extended family.

In a market study into children’s social care, with results published in March 2022, The Competition and Markets Authority found a shortage of places had driven up prices and made a number of recommendations, which were accepted by the Department for Education.

They included developing regional bodies to support local authorities in obtaining suitable placements and introducing a financial oversight regime.

A Department for Education spokesperson said local authorities were responsible for providing safe, appropriate homes for children, and were held to account for the quality of care they provided.

They said they were supporting local authorities to meet their statutory duties through £259m capital funding to maintain capacity and expand provision in secure and open residential children’s homes.

“We recognise some of the concerns associated with profiteering, particularly with regard to large providers with complex, and sometimes opaque, ownership structures,” they said.

“We are continuing to develop plans for a financial oversight regime to increase transparency for example on ownership, debt structures and profit making across both independent fostering agencies and residential children’s homes providers.”

Cllr Stephen Burroughes, deputy cabinet member for fostering and adoption at Suffolk County Council, said: “We are steadfast in our commitment to treating children as individuals and ensuring that decisions are tailored to address their specific needs.

“While our primary goal is to place children within their local community, the challenges of our rural county sometimes make this difficult.

“In some cases, this may not always be in the best interests of the child.”

He added that they were actively recruiting extra foster carers to expand capacity and provide more children with placements close to their family networks, friends, and schools.

Anyone interested in becoming a foster carer, should call 01473 264800 or email fosterandadopt@suffolk.gov.uk