Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many children are in residential care; and what the average cost is of such placements.

The number of children looked after who were placed in residential care settings on 31 March 2022 was 14,140. The figures include secure units, children’s homes and semi-independent living accommodation, other residential settings, and residential schools. This data is available at: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/c54349dc-5494-46a2-7c32-08db63adc612.

Information on placement settings for looked after children is published annually in Table A2 of the ‘Children looked after in England (including adoptions)’ statistical release, available at : https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions.

Perfectly aligned costs data are not available. However, the data shown in the 2020/21 Unit Costs of Health and Social Care report shows average costs per placement type. This is available at: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/92342/25/Unit%20Costs%20Report%202021%20-%20Final%20version%20for%20publication%20%28AMENDED2%29.pdf.