Bath & North East Somerset Council is spending £8 million per year looking after ten children, a top councillor has revealed.
The Guildhall in Bath
Councils are spending an increasing amount of money on care for vulnerable children as costs skyrocket in what is now a largely privatised sector.
Now, councillors on Bath & North East Somerset Council are calling on the government to stop private companies “profiteering” from children’s care.
“For-profit companies should not be making excessive profits from providing services to vulnerable children,” council cabinet member for children’s services Paul May (Whitchurch and Publow, Liberal Democrat) told a full council meeting on 20th November.
He said that costs in the sector had increased by 70% over the last five years, nationally.
The dramatic increase has put major pressure on council budgets, which need to be balanced with cuts or new income generation in other areas.
Councillor Mark Elliott (Lansdown, Liberal Democrat) told the meeting: “When, as cabinet member for resources, I first started to investigate why the children’s services budget was so difficult to manage, I was shocked to discover that the top ten most expensive children’s care placements were costing us a total of £8 million.”
He added: “That’s on a budget of roughly £40 million for children’s services, so 20% of the total budget for the service being spent on placements for ten children.”
He warned: “Excessive profiteering diverts resources away from children and into private gain. That is unacceptable.”
There are 2,500 children with special educational needs and disabilities in Bath and North East Somerset who have education, health, and care plans, setting out the support they need.
Councillor May said that 125 of these children were in out-of-area day placements, while 37 were in residential homes, mainly related to autism and social and emotional mental health needs.
Councillor May said the council is spending £10.6 million on the out-of-area day placements, while the cost of the taxis to take the children between them and their homes is “something in the order of £1.5 million.”
The council is planning to build its own 120-place special school on the Culverhay site so these children can attend school in Bath, but it is still waiting for government approval.
Bath & North East Somerset Council has 230 children in care, also known as looked-after children, with 27 in privately-run children’s homes. The council spends £18.9 million on the provision, with the average placement costing £9,174 a week.
Councillors were debating a motion tabled by the Liberal Democrat group calling for the government to reform the social care system and cap the profits of private providers for vulnerable children.
Councillor May said: “A lack of regulation means private service providers have been allowed to run amok in a supplier-driven marketplace.”
Leader of the opposition Labour group, Councillor Robin Moss (Westfield), said he supported the proposal, adding: “There is a real desire in central government as well to see reforms in place.”
Councillor Saskia Heijltjes (Lambridge, Green), who said she had a child with special needs herself, said she welcomed the intention behind the motion.
But she added: “Profiteering by private-equity backed providers is not the main issue facing B&NES families with children with [special educational needs and disabilities].
“The far bigger challenge is the lack of support to get an education, health, and care plan in place and the availability of local specialist provision.”
Councillor May said: “The Liberal Democrats are firmly committed to looking after the most vulnerable in our communities, as both adults and children.
“Making profits from the care of vulnerable children is deeply objectionable. We need to look for alternative, local, not-for-profit solutions. Our message to government is loud and clear, this sector needs to change.”
Council leader Kevin Guy (Liberal Democrat, Bathavon North) has previously warned in 2023: “If the funding situation – particularly for adults and children’s services – is not rectified by this government or the next government, it is only a matter of time before all local authorities in the United Kingdom go bankrupt.”
John Wimperis, Local Democracy Reporter
