'We need more council-run homes for our kids'

More children's care homes are being opened by a council to keep young people in their local area and cut down on costs.

In Warrington, the number of beds in local authority-run children's homes has increased from eight to 46 since 2019.

Across England, four-fifths of children's homes are run by private companies and local authorities are spending increasing amounts on social care services for adults and children.

Warrington Councillor Matthew Smith told BBC Politics North West there had been a 77% increase in average placement costs since 2020, and having more council-owned homes "works out cheaper".

Smith, who is responsible for children's services at the authority, said there was "obviously an investment cost up front" in creating new bed spaces.

"But the actual cost of the placements can be around a third of what it would be in an external placement," he said.

He spoke at the opening of a new four-bed home in the area, which was 50% funded by the Department for Education.

The council currently spends around two-thirds of its budget on adults and children's social care, and around 20p in every £1 is spent on children's services.

As well as the cost, Smith said the in-house facilities were better because they were often more stable than private sector homes.

He said that is because some external providers can move children around at short notice and away from their hometown.

"The advantages for us are that the young people can stay in Warrington. We have a better oversight of the facilities, we can reduce that lack of stability."

Across the country, 83% of children's homes are owned by private companies.

The government's Children's Wellbeing and Schools Bill, which is currently going through Parliament, includes powers on limiting the profits made by private companies.

Children's minister Josh MacAlister said told MPs earlier this week the profit making in children's homes "demonstrate how much radical reform we need for children's social care".

He said the government was putting £2.4bn into the system to intervene earlier alongside the measures in the Children's Wellbeing and Schools bill.

But with councils facing financial difficulties there are questions about whether providing the homes is right for cash-strapped authorities like Warrington.

"Making our own provision is much more cost-effective," said Smith, but said it is not all about the money.

"The mantra for us in council is always that the provision we provide has to be good enough for our own children. That's when you're reflecting on what you're trying to provide for the young people."

Hunter, 21, and 19-year-old Jade both grew up in care and visited the new 4-bed home opened by the council.

Jade, who lived in both privately-run and council-run homes across Cheshire and Greater Manchester, said there were positives and negatives in both.

These include being made to leave her hometown, but also the chance to make new friends, which she said she was "grateful" for.

She also highlighted the support from the local authority to keep her with her cat Ozzy as much as possible, who she lived with before she went into care.

"He's been my biggest stability and everybody has understood how much he was a big part of my life, so that's one of the best things social care has ever done for me," she said.

On a visit to the council's latest home, she said she had lived in a similar facility.

"I do like the layout and how it's set up and how the staff are," she said.

Hunter's last placement was a council-run home, although before that he lived in a privately-run home.

He said a private care home was "different", but the second one was council-run, and "that was good"."

"That was where I settled down, that was where I learnt more about myself, got a sense of family back," he said.

But ultimately, he said he felt being in a family environment was better than being in a care home.

He said: "A family environment is always going to be better for a kid."

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