Council hopes new children's homes will cut costs

Cambridgeshire County Council plans new children's homes

A council spending more than £16,000 a week on some residential child care placements has outlined proposals for two new children's homes.

Cambridgeshire County Council is planning to convert two properties it owns into children's homes, a committee has been told.

Council officers said they planned to agree a cost cap with a provider contracted to run the homes.

Last year a council boss revealed one child’s placement had been costing £85,000 a week.

'Unregistered'

Detail of plans for the new homes were outlined at a recent children and young people committee.

Committee members were told the new homes would cater for youngsters were complex needs.

The council have three homes which offered short-term breaks for children with disabilities - but have no mainstream children's homes, the committee heard.

Officers said children were being placed in unregistered settings due to the “limited registered options available”.

They said they were working with Ofsted to try to “fast track” the registration of those settings.

'Shortage'

One committee member, Dr Andy Stone, who represents the Diocese of East Anglia, described the £16,596 cost, per child per week, for an unregistered placement, referenced in a report, as “eye-watering".

In November, council chief executive Stephen Moir told councillors that one child’s placement had been costing the county council £85,000 a week.

Officers said locally and nationally more children were coming forward with complex needs, while there was also a shortage of children’s homes.

They said the council had been working to bring down costs, including trying to cut the number of children placed in homes outside Cambridgeshire.