Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of children's homes that are privately owned and operated.

As at 31 March 2025, 84% (3,360) of all children’s homes were privately owned and operated.

Ofsted publish annual data on children’s social care in England. This includes data on the number of homes and the different types of social care providers. The latest data is available at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-care-in-england-2025.

The government is taking forward work to reshape the children’s social care placement’s market, including increasing the number of foster carers so that more children can be looked after in family-based environments and encouraging more non-profit, local authority, and social investment backed providers to enter the market.