Lack of secure accommodation for children a scandal, judge says

Mr Justice Francis raised concern after being asked to make decisions about the future of a teenage girl in council care

A judge has blasted a shortage of accommodation for troubled children as a "national scandal" after being told there were just two places free for 62 youngsters in England and Wales.

Mr Justice Francis said those in crisis with behavioural difficulties were not being "properly provided for".

He raised concern after being asked to make decisions about the future of a teenage girl in council care in Wales.

She is currently on a psychiatric ward where most others were adults.

And she had been in a self-contained wing at a nursing home and looked after by two carers rather than in secure accommodation.

Mr Justice Francis, based in the the Family Division of the High Court in London, said everyone agreed that the ward was not suitable for the girl, and described it as the "least-worst option".

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Barrister Dafydd Paxton, leading the council's legal team, told him that social workers had failed to find a placement in England or Wales and were exploring possibilities in Scotland.

"In England and Wales on Friday there were 62 children in need of a secure placement," he said.

"Only two places were available - only one of them was suitable for a female."

Mr Justice Francis told Monday's online hearing: "It is scandalous that these young people in such absolute crisis are not being properly provided for."

Hospital bosses have agreed to continue accommodating her on the ward while social workers searched for suitable accommodation, the hearing was told.

Mr Justice Francis is due to consider the girl's case next week.

He said he found it "incredibly upsetting... that she is not able to be looked after in accordance with the duties that we place upon public bodies".

Mr Justice Francis said the girl could not be identified in reports of the hearing along with the council and hospital trust involved in case those details created an identity jigsaw which led to the girl's name being revealed.

Other judges have previously raised concern about a shortage of secure accommodation for children in recent years.