Council payment records reveal hundreds of businesses running unregistered children’s homes: report

According to the report, published in partnership with The Guardian, over the last two years more than 480 private companies have operated children’s homes that are not registered with Ofsted, receiving £250m for 1,800 placements.

The report’s authors added: “Given that nearly half of local authorities in England failed to respond to our freedom of information requests, the true figures are likely to be far higher.”

All children’s homes in England must register with Ofsted, and carrying on or managing a home without registration is a criminal offence.

The report warned that many private companies have “no public profile, their names familiar only to council commissioners”.

However, at least eight councils paid these companies more than £1m for a single placement.

Rachel de Souza, the Children’s Commissioner for England, told the Bureau of Investigative Journalism: “Local authorities are paying extortionate sums of money for placements that were intended as an emergency measure but have since become an accepted part of the system.

“This investigation raises serious questions about the millions spent by local authorities on placements when they cannot guarantee that vulnerable children are receiving the safeguarding and quality of care they need.”

Last month, a company and its directors were convicted and sentenced for operating three unregistered children's homes in Kent, in what the Government described as a “welcome start” to its crackdown on illegal children’s homes.

Lottie Winson