Private providers accused of making ‘obscene’ profits out of some of society’s most vulnerable children

• ‘How can it cost £20k a week to look after one child?’

Councils in England are paying more than £1m a year for a single place in privately run children’s homes, with operators citing the cost of living crisis as a reason for raising their prices, the Guardian has learned.

Private providers have been accused of making “obscene” profits out of some of society’s most vulnerable children, as local authorities reveal they are being quoted as much as £50,000 a week (£2.6m a year) for one child.

A worker in the sector claims local authorities cost taxpayers money by going for the cheap option first

• English councils pay £1m per child for places in private children’s homes

Council bosses in England are sometimes having to pay seven-figure sums annually in order to house a child with complex needs. Many local authorities currently have at least one child whose care costs £10,000 a week or more, with providers increasing their prices further in recent weeks and blaming the cost of living crisis. Here, a care home manager* explains how care can cost £1m a year:

“When we meet with local authorities, they ask us to give a breakdown of costs. When they realise how we have to cost our services, they start to understand. The high costs are almost always for placements that are made in an emergency after a child has gone through 10+ other placements which have been bought on the cheap and haven’t been able to meet their needs. The biggest scandal is that local authorities always try and use the cheapest placement first. When children’s needs aren’t met, that’s what ends up costing the taxpayer a fortune.