Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of trends in the levels of (a) profit and (b) changes in the levels of profit made by private providers and operators of children's homes in England in the last (i) five and (ii) ten years; and if he will make a statement.

The department does not hold data on profit made by private providers and operators of children’s homes in England, and is therefore unable to provide information on changes in profits over the last five and ten years.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) looked at provider profits as part of their market study of children’s social care in England, Scotland and Wales. The final report was published on 10 March 2022 and highlighted that some private providers of children’s homes and fostering agencies have high levels of profit.

The department welcomes the report and is carefully considering the CMA’s recommendations. We will publish a detailed implementation strategy in due course.