Agenda item

Briefing Note of the Director of Children and Education.

The Board considered a briefing note of the Director of Children and Education outlining ongoing challenges in the children’s social care market, recent national developments, and local authority responses.

A corresponding private briefing note detailing confidential matters relating to individuals was also submitted for consideration (Minute 12 below refers).

In the last 4 years there had been a marked increase in the number of children and young people in care that local authorities had struggled to find appropriate homes for. This continued to be a widely reported national issue and was a consequence of several interlinked factors, which were highlighted in the Competition and Market’s Authority report of March 2022, the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care of May 2022, and the Government’s response to this review – Stable Homes, Built on Love (February 2023).

There was national recognition that the children’s ‘placement’ market was broken. Recent research published by the LGA in May 2025 considered the ‘Costs and complexity in care. The real drivers of high-cost placements for children in care’.

Nationally, there had been a reduction in the number of mainstream foster carers of 9.6% since 2021, alongside a significant growth in new children’s homes of 15% in the last year, with 84% of all homes being run by private organisations. However, it is important to note that the size of a mainstream children’s homes (how many children are cared for) continues to reduce with the average new home now caring for only 3 children, compared to 4 in 2023/2024.

Research had identified that these problems broke down into two main areas and the Government had started to consider ways in which these could be addressed, alongside wider Social Care and Education reforms. As reported to the Scrutiny Board in November 2024, the two main areas were identified as:

1. A lack of placements of the right kind in the right place, thereby increasing risk of unregulated placements with providers making materially higher profits and charging significantly higher prices than if the market were functioning effectively.

2. A concern of the high level of debt some providers have and the impact if they exited the market as this would further exacerbate sufficiency and the ability of local authorities to meet the needs of these children.

The effectiveness of the fostering excellence programme, which supported a wide range of children including those with health issues or in complex needs homes, were specifically outlined.

In considering the Briefing Note, the Scrutiny Board asked questions, received responses and discussed a number of matters as summarised below.

• The Board acknowledged the overspend on children’s placements, which was primarily the result of a broken placements market. Steps were being taken locally as well as nationally to address the issues, but there was recognition that children were not always placed in their home local authority and there were children from other authorities placed in Coventry.
• The 14 local authorities included authorities from the wider West Midlands area and not just West Midlands Combined Authority members.
• There was a broad national reduction in the number of public and private foster carers, although there were attempts to conduct local and national recruitment campaigns.
• Family group conferences were not self-funded but could be very effective at reducing the numbers of children coming into the care system.
• Efforts were being made to ensure recruitment of foster carers was as efficient and easy as possible without compromising the high standards of foster carers. The council frequently worked with potential foster carers to resolve issues such as lack of spare rooms.
• Whether standards, which were largely set at the national level, could be reviewed for foster carers to make recruitment more accessible. It was noted that any reduction in standards could put children’s wellbeing at risk and that the Council needed to be completely assured in relation to placing its vulnerable children in the care of others.
• Where possible, the aim was to keep children with their families, and the Council would support family led solutions in any way it could.
• The Council put child safety as its highest priority and took standards of care very seriously.
• Short stay homes were valuable for keeping children with sudden changes in situation safe, whilst at the same time saving the Council significant money that would have been spend on alternative external placements.

The Board resolved to update the Finance and Corporate Services Scrutiny Board (1) with their responses to referred questions.

RESOLVED that, subject to the consideration of the additional confidential information contained in the corresponding private report (Minute 12 below refers), the Education and Children’s Services Scrutiny Board (2):

1)  Notes the information provided in the Briefing Note.

2)  Formally acknowledges Coventry City Councils support of the 14 local authorities in the West Midlands by managing the West Midlands Commissioning Hub and leading on the Regional Frameworks for both Fostering and Residential homes.