Opinion: Children being placed in illegal children’s homes across the UK is an emerging hidden crisis

15 April 2024 – New data published by the Guardian following a joint investigation by The Observer and Together Trust shows an alarming amount of children being placed in unregistered (illegal) homes by Councils.

Thousands of children across the UK are awaiting placements in either registered children’s homes or with a foster family, exacerbated by a national shortage of 8,000 foster carers. Councils struggling to find a suitable home for children amid this crisis often feel they have no other choice but to place a child in unregistered accommodation.

For many, this is not a desirable outcome, it is the absence of any real choice. It is extremely worrying that our most vulnerable children are living in places without any independent oversight.

Council funding cuts and the consequential decline of community services, coupled with long delays for children in accessing mental health and disability support, have led to increased levels of need. The COVID-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis could not have come at a worse time. There remains a national shortage of safe, regulated homes for children in care, particularly those with complex needs. 

In August 2023, Ofsted released a report with a renewed warning against the placement of vulnerable children, including those subject to deprivation of liberty orders, in unregistered children’s homes, but we know from contacting councils that this happening across the country. Shockingly, one council admitted that they knew of around 30 children in their jurisdiction that were living in unregulated homes.

The number of children living in institutional care outside the scope of Ofsted oversight has skyrocketed. It’s deeply concerning that we know nothing about the quality of their care or whether their needs are being met. Without action now, the number of children in unregistered accommodation will continue to grow year on year. 

The issues facing children living in illegal homes have still not reached the forefront of the policy agenda, and as a society, we still know very little about their experiences. There is no strategy for ensuring that every child growing up in the care of the State lives in a regulated, caring home.

We urgently need a joint national strategy from Ofsted, the Department for Education and the Ministry of Justice to end the use of unregistered accommodation for all children. These organisations must work together to solve this issue, working alongside Councils to alleviate the pressures they face.

We are calling for a sufficiency and workforce plan that cuts across the children’s social care system and increases the number of safe and caring homes for children. Without intervention now, this hidden crisis will only worsen – and it’s the country’s most vulnerable children that are at risk.