Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the (a) number of and (b) demand for independent sector welfare secure children's home placements (i) in England and (ii) in (A) unitary and (B) upper-tier local authority areas.

Figures from the Ofsted publication show that there is only one independent (voluntary run) secure children’s home in England located in St Helens. The publication is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/local-authority-and-childrens-homes-in-england-inspections-and-outcomes.

As at 31 March 2018, this secure home had 12 approved places, 11 places were available and 11 children were accommodated. This information is published by the department here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-accommodated-in-secure-childrens-homes-31-march-2018.