A Department for Education spokesperson said:
“The Education Secretary has been clear that no child should be
denied the opportunity for a loving, stable family life, or be
‘bounced around’ the care system in accommodation that does not
meet their needs. We have also set out that children under the
age of 16 should not be living in unregulated homes.
“Our bold, broad and independently-led Care Review will launch as
soon as possible, and will support improvements in the children’s
social care system. This will build on the millions we have
invested in secure children’s homes and in projects designed to
increase capacity and improve how places for these children are
commissioned.”
Further information:
- Supporting the most vulnerable children in the country is a
priority for this Government, and every young person in care
deserves appropriate, safe accommodation that supports them in
the best way possible.
- We have invested £200 million in our children’s social care
Innovation Programme through projects to increase councils’
capacity and improve commissioning practice.
- The Government has consulted on banning under-16s from being
placed in unregulated accommodation, and bringing in mandatory
national standards for settings that accommodate those aged 16
and 17. The consultation can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/unregulated-provision-for-children-in-care-and-care-leavers
- We will be setting out our plans for ensuring the
high-quality of semi-independent and independent accommodation in
due course.
- The Education Secretary’s recent speech on adoption made
clear that a lack of adoptive parents is in children being
“bounced around the system” as they wait for a family:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/education-secretary-urges-overhaul-to-adoption-system
- We are supporting councils through this time by providing
£4.6 billion of additional funding to address any pressures they
are facing, including within children’s social care.
- We have invested in increased capacity at the NSPCC helpline
for anyone concerned about a child’s welfare.
- We have provided £7 million to the See, Hear, Respond service
led by Barnardo’s, as well as online and face to face support,
this includes youth work and crisis support particularly for
those at risk of or experiencing various forms of exploitation,
including criminal exploitation.
