Recommendation 32

The Department has banned unregulated accommodation for children under 16. We hold deep concerns that children aged 16 and 17 can still be placed in unsafe, unsuitable accommodation without care or oversight. No looked-after child should be living in a setting without some form of regulation by Ofsted. It is right that the Department will be introducing a set of mandatory national standards, overseen by Ofsted, for governing unregulated settings for 16- and 17-year-olds.