Children in Care: Illegal Accommodation

Lord Purvis of Tweed Excerpts

Thursday 12th March 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

I am not sure if my noble friend sat in on any of the sessions of the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill, but future regulations will enable a cap on the profits of non-local authority, Ofsted-registered providers of children’s homes. We have to do this carefully and sensibly. I urge all noble Lords to realise that we have an unprecedented number of children and young people coming forward into care. Our focus needs to be on preventing those young people coming into care in the first place.

[Lord Purvis of Tweed (LD)]

Looked-after children have the richest parents in the country—the state—but they have been let down over many successive Governments. One of the best sources of information to make improvements to the services is the life experience of looked-after children themselves. Can the Minister tell the House how young people who have gone through the system will be able to inform the decision-making process to enable improvements to the system?

[Baroness Blake of Leeds (Lab)]

It is not just about young people who have come out of care, but young people who are in care at the time. Most local authorities have very supportive groups through which young people come together and meet. We must not underestimate the power of peer groups sharing their concerns. The voice of the child and of young people is fundamental, critical, to taking this journey forward. For too long the state has taken an attitude of, “We know best; we will instruct what has to happen”. This cannot go on. I am delighted that children and young people are now being given the opportunity to be really involved in their futures.