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The text you’ve provided is a BBC report discussing the issue of illegal children’s homes in parts of northern England, including the reasons for their existence, the challenges faced by registered children’s homes, and the consequences for vulnerable children.
Here’s a concise summary and key points from the article:
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### Summary of the BBC Investigation on Illegal Children’s Homes in England
**Context:**
– Illegal children’s homes are often located in terraced/suburban housing areas with lower rents, especially in northern England.
– Approximately 20% of children in care live at least 20 miles away from their original homes.
– Some illegal homes cost councils over £2 million per child per year in extreme cases.
– These high placement costs reduce funding available for early interventions that could prevent children from entering care.
**Reasons for Illegal Children’s Homes:**
– The legal, registered children’s home market cannot meet the demand for children with complex needs, roughly 10% of those requiring residential care.
– Many children placed in illegal homes are violent or require restraint and some are locked under Deprivation of Liberty orders.
– Secure children’s units, which can safely house such children, are limited and costly (e.g., Cornwall paying £63,000/week for one child).
– Councils feel compelled to use illegal homes due to legality and cost pressures, despite the risks.
**Problems with the System and Market:**
– An increasing number of property investors are entering the children’s home sector, leading to profiteering.
– Some landlords are converting rental properties into children’s homes, seen as lucrative investments compared to traditional rentals.
– Ofsted’s registration process is slow (up to 18 months waiting times), leaving providers stuck in limbo and sometimes pushing them to illegal operation.
– Vulnerable children placed in these settings may have histories of abuse and mental health challenges, making them hard to place safely.
**Safeguarding and Regulation Challenges:**
– Historical failures (e.g., Hesley children’s homes scandal in Doncaster) have made Ofsted more defensive and reactive.
– Providers fear that children with complex needs often attract notifications and inspections, risking business viability.
– As a result, some providers decline placements of high-need children, preferring to keep homes empty rather than face regulatory scrutiny or risk.
**Quotes and Analogies:**
– Councils’ situation likened to placing “the sickest patients” from hospitals into “backstreet clinics” (Anders Bach-Mortensen).
– Providers complain that the flawed regulatory registration process effectively encourages illegal homes to “thrive.”
**Impact on Children:**
– The use of illegal homes often involves placing extremely vulnerable children in unregulated, unsafe, and unmonitored environments, such as above shops or holiday cottages.
– These settings are sub-standard and do not have the safeguards of registered homes.
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### Contact Information for Further Details
The report also includes contact details for Noel Titheradge at the BBC, inviting anyone with more information about children’s homes costs, conditions, or ownership to get in touch confidentially.
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If you need more specific information or a particular focus (e.g., analysis of regulatory failures, cost breakdown, or impact on children), please let me know!
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More
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