No care places left for most vulnerable children in England, MPs told

Hundreds of susceptible children volition beryllium successful amerciable accommodation this wintertime due to the fact that determination are nary places for them successful children's homes, attraction providers say.

In March, the authorities extended a prohibition connected unregulated homes to children successful attraction aged 16 and 17, pursuing BBC investigations.

The BBC recovered immoderate had been forced to unrecorded successful caravans and barges - and experienced organised abuse.

A crackdown gets nether mode successful October, erstwhile Ofsted begins inspections.

All unregulated attraction settings, which tin see idiosyncratic houses and flats successful residential areas, volition go illegal.

But section authorities - which person a ineligible work to supply homes for children - whitethorn beryllium forced to support utilizing them due to the fact that they volition person nary alternative.

About 80% of regulated children's homes successful England are provided by backstage companies, which are suffering chronic unit shortages and a terrible compression connected places.

Mark Kerr, of the Children's Homes Association, this week warned MPs of an urgent request for much resources.

"We person a situation present that's going to deteriorate," helium told the Commons acquisition committee, but "despite repeated calls we are getting nary joyousness from the section of education".

The authorities banned section authorities from lodging under-16s successful unregulated settings successful 2021. In March, it extended the prohibition to unregulated placements for 16 and 17-year-olds.

But galore section authorities person continued to spot children successful unregulated accommodation.

"The world is that hundreds of highly susceptible children and young radical volition person obscurity to go," said a spokesperson for the Children's Homes Association, successful a statement.

It said a workforce situation and a emergence successful numbers of children coming into attraction - with a important summation successful those facing intersexual and transgression exploitation - meant determination would beryllium a shortfall successful regulated placements.

"We look an unprecedented situation successful residential childcare without urgent enactment to code workforce challenges," the spokesperson added.

In caller years, galore section authorities person resorted to applying for tribunal orders to restrict children's liberty arsenic a solution to managing the risks they are facing, according to the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory.

Such Deprivation of Liberty (DoL) orders tin licence children to beryllium kept nether changeless supervision down locked doors and windows - successful homes that request to beryllium tailored to the risks they are considered to face.

The Children's Homes Association estimates that astatine slightest 800 children connected DoL orders volition person to beryllium re-homed from October. It says it is these children - which it describes arsenic the astir susceptible successful the attraction strategy - who look the astir acute shortage of regulated placements.

Louise Gittins, seat of the Local Government Association's Children and Young People Board, said: "We person agelong raised concerns implicit the availability of homes for children successful attraction and it is captious authorities works with america to code these.

"The request for children's location accommodation presently outstrips supply, and this is undoubtedly driving the expanding usage of unregulated and unregistered accommodation."

A Department for Education spokesperson said it was the work of section authorities to supply harmless placements.

"Local authorities are liable for providing safe, due homes for children, and are held to relationship for the prime of attraction they provide.

"We are investing implicit £142m implicit 3 years to marque definite the modulation to Ofsted registration is successful."