Newham Council is facing increased scrutiny over the rising costs of children in care, despite plans to open a new home for young people with complex needs. The issue was discussed at a recent Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, where councillors examined the council's financial strategy and its approach to supporting vulnerable children. Concerns were raised about the long-term sustainability of current placement costs and the need for more affordable accommodation for care leavers.
It comes as Newham Council faces broader financial challenges, including a Non-Statutory Best Value Notice from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Robert Whiteman, chair of the improvement board, stated that the notice was a mixture of concerns about governance and the medium-term financial strategy. The notice doesn't specifically impact the Children and Young People Services, but the improvement board has experts on children's social care.
Laura Eden, Corporate Director for Children and Young People Services, acknowledged the national placement sufficiency crisis and its impact on Newham. She said the council had been successful in gaining capital to open its own children's home for children with complex needs, including autism and emotional wellbeing needs. A four-bedded unit is also planned for care leavers with high needs, with a 43-bedded complex expected to be ready by October. Eden expressed confidence that young people would take up the offered placements, as they had been involved in the design and location selection.
Councillor Lakmini Shah, Chair of Education, Children and Young People Services scrutiny commission, questioned the council's long-term strategy to secure more affordable and stable accommodation for care leavers. Councillor Stratton also inquired about the review process for high-cost placements and the policy for young people who refuse offered placements.
Eden responded that the 25 high-cost placements were reviewed every fortnight to check that their needs are still that high, that they require a placement like that, or that we can find another placement that's as suitable.
She also mentioned that these placements often require three-to-one or two-to-one staffing ratios and may involve deprivation of liberty safeguard orders. If care leavers refuse initial placements, they would then be offered temporary accommodation or another property if one was available or shared accommodation.
Councillor Stratton also raised concerns about the choices offered to young people, asking, So if they don't take a choice, then the cost has been incurred by us. So what's our policy of saying it's in place? If they refuse the place, what are our options?
Eden responded, We have a whole policy and a care leaver offer. So it is not legal to make a care... one of our children homeless. We can't evict our own children.
Eden also highlighted the shortage of foster carers and London placements, making it difficult to reduce placement spending. She noted that the council was working regionally with London to open a secure children's home, as children needing secure accommodation often had to be placed outside of London.
The scrutiny of children in care placement costs comes as Newham Council faces broader financial challenges. The committee also reviewed the Summer Finance Review, which included discussion of a substantial overspend of £41 million in the previous year, primarily due to high placement costs for children in care and higher accommodation costs for care leavers, according to Conrad Hall, corporate director of resources. The council is addressing this by opening its own children's home for children with complex needs and the four-bedded unit for care leavers.
