Monday 17th
November, 3.30pm, Grimond Room, Portcullis House
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will hold a scrutiny session
on the financial
sustainability of children's care homes at 3.30pm on
Monday 17th November 2025.
The National Audit Office (NAO) has found that between '20-'21
and '23-'24, the number of children reported to Ofsted as placed
in unregistered homes each year rose from 147 to 982. In March
'24, almost half of children in homes were placed more than 20
miles from their family home, and 14% in homes had three or more
different placements in twelve months. The Department for
Education (DfE) does not know how many children are in
inappropriate care.
In a session first with experts and care sector representatives,
and subsequently with the DfE, the PAC will scrutinise how the
government will assure the performance of the residential care
system, and the appropriateness of placements. This is in light
of the NAO's findings that the private provider-led residential
care market is not working, with local authorities competing for
too few of the right places while providers charge higher fees.
Likely topics for the session will explore what needs to change,
and what government can do to bring down the number of children
in unregistered homes.
Panel One - witnesses from 3.30pm:
- Dr Mark Kerr, Chief Executive
Officer at The Children's Homes Association
- Joe Lane, Deputy Director of Policy
and Projects at Children's Commissioner's Office
- Rachael Wardell OBE, President at
Association of Directors of Children's Services
Panel Two – witnesses from approx. 4.15pm
- Susan Acland-Hood, Permanent
Secretary at DfE
- Gila Sacks, Director General,
Families at DfE
- Isabella Trowler CBE, Chief Social
Worker for Children and Families at DfE
