Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the number of children in care within private care homes in (a) Bradford Council, (b) Leeds Council, (c) Calderdale Council and (d) Kirklees Council.

The department collects data on children looked after by local authorities. The latest available information on the number of children in care by each requested local authority within private care homes on 31 March 2024 is shown below:

The figures include children looked after in secure children’s homes, children’s homes subject to Children’s Homes Regulations and residential care homes under private provision. Figures exclude children looked after under a series of short-term placements.

Ofsted’s latest annual publication of ‘Inspection and regulation of children’s social care providers’ shows the following private children’s homes and places as at 30 September 2024:

This publication can be accessed in full at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inspection-and-regulation-of-childrens-social-care-providers.