Budget of £20m approved for new children's homes

There are 650 children in care in West Northamptonshire and many are in privately-run homes

A budget of £20m has been approved for new children's homes in a county.

West Northamptonshire Council hopes it will save money by creating its own accommodation for youngsters in care.

Current care home places are often provided by the private sector at a cost of up to £359,000 per child, per year.

One councillor said people taking advantage of the high price of private places were "basically shysters on the most vulnerable part of society".

The Conservative-controlled council said a place at an in-house facility could be up to £70,000 cheaper per child.

Speaking at this week's meeting of the council's cabinet, Ian McCord, an independent councillor, said: "The only way we're going to take these people on and compete with them is to outplay them on their own field."

The independent councillor Ian McCord said people profiting from high care costs were "basically shysters"

As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the cabinet's decision means that officials and senior councillors would have permission to draw from a pot of money set aside to deliver children's homes projects.

The budget would have to be agreed by full council and be capped at £20m.

The Conservative cabinet member for children and families, Fiona Baker, told the meeting: "This is a really good move forward so that we are providing good quality accommodation at reasonable cost, so we are not inflating the bank balances of providers in the sector.

The cabinet member for children, Fiona Brown, said children should not have to go to a "far-flung county" to get a placement

"We want [children] to be in an area that they recognise as being the home that they live in - not some far-flung county, because that's the only place we could find a house for them."

Arnold House in Moulton is one of the homes where children in care are accommodated in Northamptonshire

Ms Baker added that homes created from the budget could be either new builds or existing properties, and would accommodate a maximum of three or four children.

Currently, there are about 650 children in care in West Northamptonshire.

The council said if the entire £20m budget was used, it would provide placements for 51 children and young people at an average saving of at least £19,000 per child each year.