Recommendation 3

Providers of children’s homes, including local authorities, are not offering the places needed locally, leading to children being placed in homes that do not meet their needs. There are disparities in the places available across the country, particularly for children with more complex needs. For example, there are currently no secure home places for children in London, and 49% of children in England are placed in homes more than 20 miles from their family homes. With long distances and travel involved, social workers find it harder to understand the support available locally and to then spend time with children, which negatively impacts outcomes for those children. Private providers are not incentivised to open homes where they are needed, with local authorities also facing challenges accessing capital support to open their own homes. There are no incentives to help prioritise homes where they are most needed and barriers to creating places remain. This includes difficulties getting reliable capital funding to build new homes, shortages of qualified staff to run and work in residential homes, and difficulties in gaining planning permission for children’s homes. recommendation The Department should detail how it will better understand and address barriers to creating the places needed and set out how it will: provide local authorities more consistent funding and support to create new places; work with Ofsted to resolve delays registering new homes; address challenges in providers receiving planning permission where homes are needed; and ensure providers are better able to secure the qualified staff needed. 4