Plymouth to develop its own residential care for children as £2m deal is signed

Plymouth City Council will buy two houses to provide local homes for children that are in the care of the local authority. An agreement has been signed for the council to commit £2 million to the project, to develop its own residential care for children where they will be looked after in a safe, homely environment.

More than 500 Plymouth children are currently cared for by the local authority and whilst many of them are living in family homes with foster carers, a shortage of foster carers means that the council currently also accesses provision from the private sector, utilising independent fostering agencies or residential provision, which comes at a significant cost.

This means children and young people in care sometimes end up living hundreds of miles away from home. By developing local provision, more children and young people will benefit from being in care as close to their home as possible, so that they can receive continued support, including staying within their existing school, and by maintaining existing relationships with family and friends where appropriate.

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Creating more residential children’s home places within Plymouth will mean children face less upheaval and disruption to their lives and can receive greater support with their emotional and behavioural needs. As well as benefitting local children and young people, the new residential care offer will also have a significant financial benefit to the council with savings of between £200,000 to £500,000 forecast for the first year alone.

Cllr Jemima Laing, cabinet member for children’s social care, said: “I find it immoral that companies should profit so excessively from the care of vulnerable young people. Our aim is for all children within our care to be looked after in a loving, family home within the city.

"This is not always possible, due to a lack of foster homes or sometimes because of the needs of the child or young person that we’re supporting. This means some children may need to be placed into residential care. Unfortunately, there is currently no financial regulation and the private sector has been allowed to make huge profits from residential placements. The costs for us are simply astronomical.

“It goes without saying that our number one priority is always to give children the care they need, regardless of the cost involved. By making this decision to purchase our own homes, it means we will have much greater control over both the costs and the care provided and can ensure that children and young people can continue to live in Plymouth with their own support network around them.”

The two homes would be registered with Ofsted to offer provision for up to six children at any one time, with a staff team employed directly by the council.