Community Care have reported: Children’s homes are profiteering from a “broken” market in which demand far exceeds supply, the children’s minister has warned.
This is driving huge spending on placements by local authorities, with fees of £8,000 plus a week “not unusual”, Will Quince told the House of Commons’ education select committee last week.
As a result, councils lack funds to invest in early intervention, to help children stay with their families, he said.
Sitting alongside the minister, Department for Education (DfE) director of children’s social care Fran Oram said the government would bring forward reforms to ensure the market functions much more in the interests of children.