Cost of place in children’s care homes in England hits almost £320,000 a year
The cost of a single place in a residential children’s care home in England has nearly doubled in five years to an average £318,000 a year, with private firms racking up huge profits as a result of market failure, according to the public spending watchdog.The £3bn children’s homes market, which is increasingly dominated by private firms, some funded by private equity, is “dysfunctional” and too often fails to deliver a good service for youngsters or value for money, a National Audit Office (NAO) report said.In the most extreme instances – likely to involve children with complex needs who require 24-hour supervision by multiple staff – councils had been charged up to £63,000 a week (£3.3m a year) for a single placement, the NAO said.Privately owned care firms ramped up fees above the rate of inflation, with the biggest providers enjoying average annual profit rates of 22.
6% a year as they took advantage of spiralling demand for care, insufficient places and staff shortages.Despite the increase in spending, too many placements failed to meet individual children’s care requirements, the report said.Unsuitable placements were common, with half of youngsters placed more than 20 miles from their families, and one in seven experiencing three or more different placements in a year.Gareth Davies, the head of the NAO, said: “The residential care system for looked-after children is currently not delivering value for money, with many children placed in settings that don’t meet their needs.”The cost of residential care is seen by local authorities as unsustainable.
It is also regarded by many top-tier councils as the biggest cause of overspends in children’s services and the most substantial threat to their financial viability.The lack of suitable residential care places meant four out of five councils placed children with complex needs in illegal care facilities, the NAO said.Official figures show the number of children placed in so-called unregistered homes rose from 147 in 2020 to 982 in 2024.Shortages of places were exacerbated by high property prices and councils not granting planning permission for new homes because of local resident opposition.Demand for care home places had risen in part because of a decline in the number of foster carers and the closure of inpatient children’s mental health services.
The most recent official figures show that in March 2024, 16,150 of the 83,630 looked-after children in England were in residential care, defined as children’s homes, secure homes for youngsters with severe behavioural problems, and supported accommodation for teenagers over 16 years old,Of the 4,000 registered children’s homes in England, 84% are privately owned,NAO analysis found seven of the 10 biggest private providers were ultimately owned or part-funded by private equity firms,These are often loaded with high levels of debt, heightening the risk of market instability,Although the government has promised to tackle “excessive profits” in the children’s residential sector, the NAO says progress in making changes has been slow, and ministers have yet to set out a clear vision of how it would achieve this.
According to the NAO, many large private providers’ “complex ownership arrangements” mean it is difficult to identify excess profits or what constitutes a “reasonable price” for a placement, making it hard to introduce a profit cap.The newly appointed education minister Josh McAlister, who chaired a government-commissioned independent review of children’s services three years ago, previously called for a windfall tax on “indefensible” private children’s home profits.Amanda Hopgood, the Local Government Association’s children, young people and families committee spokesperson, criticised the “astronomical” cost of care placements and called for “greater financial oversight” of the largest private providers.A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We are driving the largest ever reform of children’s social care, backed by £2bn to break the cycle of crisis for children, recruiting thousands more dedicated family help workers to wrap support around families and tackle issues from drug and alcohol addiction to domestic abuse.”
Former England cricketer investigated over sexual assault and spiking claims at pub owned by sports stars
A former England cricketer is being investigated by police over an allegation of sexual assault and claims two women had their drinks spiked at a London pub co-owned by a group of current and former sport stars.In a statement released to the Daily Telegraph on Friday, the Metropolitan police confirmed that officers interviewed a man in his 40s in June after it received a complaint about an alleged spiking and assault.“Two women are believed to have been spiked with one also allegedly sexually assaulted,” the statement read. “A man in his 40s was interviewed under caution on Thursday, June 5. Enquiries remain ongoing and no arrests have been made at this stage
Your Guardian sport weekend: Women’s Rugby World Cup quarters, Manchester derby and more
Tom Bassam has all the buildup to Saturday’s bumper football action. He’ll spin through the headlines and look ahead to eight Premier League fixtures, with team news and breaking stories. First action of the day is the lunchtime kick-off at the Emirates Stadium, where Arsenal host Nottingham Forest and English football welcomes back its favourite not-for-turning Aussie. Ange Postecoglou is back in work after replacing Nuno Espírito Santo at the City Ground, less than three months after leaving Spurs. David Hytner and Barney Ronay provide expert reports and analysis, with Rob Smyth providing online coverage
Sweet William is punters’ darling again after second successive Doncaster Cup success
There are horses that win with a minimum of fuss, and others, like Sweet William, that have a style that is all their own, and John & Thady Gosden’s stayer kept it interesting throughout in the Doncaster Cup on Friday, as he overcame a slow start and some early coaxing from Rab Havlin in his saddle to win the Group Two contest for the second year running.Sweet William has often appeared to have his own ideas about the racing game during a 20-race career, with slow starts and mid-race flat spots frequently forcing Havlin to get busy at an early stage.When he eventually goes through the gears, however, he is a very difficult horse to keep out of the frame, and while his latest win was his first since the same race 12 months ago, his fourth-place finish in this year’s Ascot Gold Cup was the only time he has been outside the first three. His strike-rate for each-way backers is 85%.Sweet William was bumped leaving the stalls, took a few strides to find his balance and was then ridden by Havlin to make up the lost ground before tacking himself on at the back of the field
Blunt Hovland talks down early promise at Wentworth while McIlroy struggles
It is difficult to square Viktor Hovland’s excellent position on the Wentworth leaderboard with the Norwegian’s blunt assessment of his game. The 27-year-old claimed he hit certain shots on the West Course on Friday that “hurt my soul”.Hovland has been in a state of technical flux all year, with his driving a particular cause for concern. He is perfectly candid about that, despite rounds of 67 and 66 at this PGA Championship. Hovland’s next start will come as part of team Europe in the Ryder Cup
Álvarez and Crawford face off in breathless blockbuster destined to break records
More than 70,000 spectators will witness oversized fight but smallest margins will decide outcome Las Vegas has staged its share of blockbuster fight nights but nothing on the scale of what is coming this weekend. On Saturday night at Allegiant Stadium, the $2bn (£1.47bn) home of the NFL’s Raiders, Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez will defend his undisputed super-middleweight crown against Terence Crawford in front of more than 70,000 spectators, by far the largest boxing crowd the city has ever seen.Millions more will watch on Netflix, which is carrying the card at no extra cost to subscribers – a first for a fight of this magnitude and a reminder of how the business of boxing is being remade in real time. For decades, the sport depended on pay-per-view
Gout Gout fanfare obscures depth of Australian athletics poised for world championships spotlight | Jack Snape
The sudden rise of sprint phenomenon Gout Gout has triggered an explosion of interest in athletics, but it has also obscured the sport’s growing depth in Australia, which is poised for the spotlight at the world championships in Japan starting on Saturday.Despite the hype, Gout is far from Australia’s best chance of success in the hot and humid National Stadium in inner Tokyo. The team totals 86 athletes – 22 more than in Budapest in 2023 – and Australia has never sent a larger group to a global meet. There are as many as 10 genuine medal contenders, including 21 Australian athletes seeded higher than the Brisbane high school student.The teenager’s seeding of 16 suggests he will do well just to make it to the semi-finals and remain competitive in his first major meet, alongside the likes of Noah Lyles, Letsile Tebogo, Kenny Bednarek and the rest of the world’s fastest men, even if some – including veteran commentator Bruce McAvaney and fellow sprinter Lachlan Kennedy – believe he could go all the way to the final
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