MP wants to keep children in care closer to home

An MP has called for a new law to be introduced to help keep more children in care within their local communities.

Rother Valley MP Jake Richards tabled his private members after he said the current care system was "not fit for purpose".

Figures from care charity Become suggest in 2023 more than 20% of children in England were living more than 20 miles from their homes.

Richards said the impact of being placed a long way from their homes was having "profound consequences" on children's relationships and education.

While councils are legally required to provide care within their areas, many children are placed outside their local authority boundaries due to pressures on the system and a shortage of suitable homes, he said.

Richards' bill, tabled on 16 October, would require local authorities to publish information about the number of looked after children in distance placements.

It would also require councils and the Department for Education to develop and publish plans outlining how they will ensure there is sufficient accommodation for children in their area.

“More and more children are being moved away from their homes, with profound consequences for their relationships and education," Richards said.

“Quite simply, the current care system is not fit for purpose."

In Rotherham 55% of the 448 children under the council’s care were residing outside the local authority area, figures from Become showed.

Council leader Chris Read said the authority recorded placements within 20 miles of their family home and beyond.

"By this measure 80% of children in care are placed within 20 miles – which is better than the national or regional average of other councils," he said.

"Sadly, some children will always need to be placed further away, either because they require specialist services, or for their own safety."

He said the council measured placements by the distance from their home rather than local authority boundaries because it felt it was fairer.

"A child from my ward in Swinton, for example, would be much closer to home 10 minutes away in Mexborough, which falls into the Doncaster local authority," he said.

"Incentivising a placement in Aston – two bus rides and a 90-minute journey away – would put them further from school and support networks, but it would keep them within the Rotherham boundary.

"It is important that when legislating, politicians do not simply inflict unintended consequences."

A second reading of the bill is due to take place on Friday 28 March.

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