Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many local authorities have authorised care placements for children in unregulated care settings in (a) each of the last ten years and (b) each of the last twelve months.

On 31 March 2019, 6,180 looked after children were placed in semi-independent living or were living independently. Of these children, 6,090 were aged 16 years or over and 100 of these were aged under 16 years.

Information on care placement type is published annually in the statistical release ‘Children looked after in England including adoption’. The latest data relates to the year ending 31 March 2019. This data is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoption-2018-to-2019. The department does not routinely publish data in the form requested or monthly counts of any placement types.

Figures for the number of children placed in semi-independent living, or who were living independently, are shown in the table (by local authority area)[1].

[1] Some figures are not shown in order to protect confidentiality. Therefore, the rounded aggregate of local authority figures as a result may not add up to the relevant regional total.