Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the potential impact of a cap on profits on the availability of children's social care placements.

Profiteering from vulnerable children in care is absolutely unacceptable and we are taking action to stamp out profiteering in the children’s social care placement market.

Through our package of measures, we are rebalancing the placements market, improving competition, regulation and commissioning of placements, shining a light on the levels of profit being made and bringing greater visibility to the prices local authorities are paying.

We are acutely aware of the importance of not destabilising the sector and will not risk significant disruption to the care our most vulnerable children and young people receive.

We will monitor the market carefully, including drawing on early lessons from the expansion of Regional Care Co-operatives, and will publicly set out more information on the impact of our reforms. Based on our assessment and subject to consultation, we will not flinch from capping the profits of private providers placing vulnerable children in care.