Children’s Care Homes: Private Equity Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Education
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean
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Children’s Care Homes: Private Equity
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean Excerpts(10 months, 3 weeks ago)
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Baroness Barran (Con)
There are just under 8,000 children in children’s homes, about 57,000 children in foster care and just under 7,000 children in either secure placements or independent supported accommodation.
Lord Forsyth of Drumlean (Con)
My Lords, this attack on the private sector is extraordinary, is it not? Local authorities are desperate for capital and the resources to provide for children, yet the private sector, which is providing that capital, is under attack. Surely the alternative is that there will not be the resources needed for children.
Baroness Barran (Con)
My noble friend pointed to a more fundamental question, namely: why have local authorities and charities, which used to provide these services, stepped back in a world where the private sector can make a decent return on them?