We want the Government to legislate to ensure no profit making is allowed in child social care. We believe placements should be run by local authorities, or if run by independent fostering agencies, these agencies should run not for profit. Additionally, price caps to services should be included.
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There are currently 83,000 children in care in England. Data from a selection of local authorities found that the average cost of a local authority placement was £23,000, but the average cost with an independent fostering agency was £48,000.
We believe this represents poor value for the taxpayer. Moreover, we think investors profiting from children in care is against the values of safeguarding, which demand the child's needs at the centre of decision making. The Government's aim should be to ensure the best outcomes for children, not the best outcomes for investors.