Costs of children in care hit £3.4bn

Costs of children in care hit £3.4bn

The cost of supporting children in care has reached £3.4bn, according to an Audit Commission report that exposes widespread variation of spending across councils.

The spending watchdog’s briefing on councils’ expenditure on looked-after children revealed that a 12 per cent rise in the children in care population from 2010 to the end of March 2013 had pushed the total bill to £3.4bn during 2012/13.

The briefing highlights “significant variation” in the amount each council spends. The average spend on looked-after children across all councils came to £137 a day, or just over £50,000 for the whole year.

However 21 councils spent less than £40,000 a year per looked-after child, and 32 councils spent more than £60,000.

Local differences in foster care commissioning was identified as a key factor. The Audit Commission found that shortages of local carers pushed costs up as councils rely more on out-of-area placements and on fostering agencies, which were on average a third more expensive to use than in-house council fostering services.

Those councils that bulk purchased care and set up rosters with a wide variety of care suppliers also tended “to get a better price,” the Audit Commission said.

Audit Commission chair Jeremy Newman called on councils to work better together and focus on joint commissioning to push prices down.

He said: “’Councils should use their collective purchasing power to get maximum value for the £1.5bn they spend on foster care.

“Rather than competing with each other, potentially driving up prices, councils should consider whether collaborating with neighbouring councils can secure the services they need, at a price they can better afford.”

But making savings should not bring down the quality of care, Newman warned.

He added: “We encourage all councils to review their spending and in particular urge higher spending councils to understand the reasons for this and to consider whether they can secure more cost-effective placements without compromising on the quality of care.”

Among examples of council co-operation is a two-year government-funded fostering recruitment project that got under way this year, where councils and agencies are working together.

A total of 11 councils across three areas, West Yorkshire, the North West and Oxfordshire, are taking part.

Helen Berresford, head of public affairs at 4Children, said councils should invest in early intervention support for families to keep children in care costs down further.

She said: “We need a system of early and intensive support which sets sights high for struggling families and helps reduce the risk of children falling into care.”

The Audit Commission report also highlights the long-term social and economic cost of supporting looked-after children into adulthood.

It flags up figures showing that 23 per cent of the adult prison population have been in care and a quarter of homeless people living on the street have a care background.

Source: CYPNow

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