Law change needed for children in unregulated accommodation

The Children’s Commissioner for England is calling for the government to change the law to stop councils placing under 18s in care in unregulated accommodation.

Anne Longfield said that the law change would see all children in care who need a residential placement housed in accommodation regulated under the same standards as children’s homes, and would put an end to 16-17 year olds being placed in bedsits, hostels and caravans.

A new report, Unregulated: Children in care living in semi-independent accommodation, reveals how thousands of children in care are living in unregulated independent or semi-independent accommodation, which are not inspected and lack regular support from adults.

One in eight children in care spent some time in an unregulated placements in 2018-19, and the Children’s Commissioner says that the number is increasing due to the lack of capacity in children’s homes and an outdated belief that children aged just 16 should be ready to become independent.

The report also shows how some providers are making extraordinary profits from unregulated accommodation. It highlights how many desperate councils are paying thousands of pounds a week to private providers who are then providing poor quality accommodation and little in the way of support to often very vulnerable children. Some of these providers are also avoiding routine procedures designed to keep children safe, including DBS checks.

As well as calling for the use of semi-independent and independent provision to be made illegal for all children in care, the report makes a number of recommendations, including: increasing capacity across the care system; strengthening the role of Independent Reviewing Officers; and clarification of what care looks like for children of different ages, including older teens.

Longfield said: “The government has proposed cleaning up the unregulated sector by introducing new minimum standards, but this does not address the real problem – allowing children under 18 to be placed in this accommodation in the first place. For too long children have been placed in this inappropriate accommodation as the sector has gone unchecked, with some providers making large profits from substandard and unsafe accommodation while offering little to no support. Ultimately it is the one in 8 children in care who spend time in unregulated accommodation who pay the price. These children are often left in extremely vulnerable situations, putting them at increased risk of exploitation by organised criminal gangs or abusers.

“Every parent wants their children to have stable, secure homes with access to the support and care they need. Nobody would willingly put their own child in the sort of places and situations that this report highlights. This is about the basic standards of care we provide to children looked after by the state: a safe and secure place to live and proper support to help with the challenges they face. This is the minimum we would expect for every child, yet there are 12,000 children in England looked after by the state for whom these standards do not apply. That is why the law must change so that all looked after children who need a residential placement are housed in accommodation regulated under the same standards as children’s homes.”