Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment she has made of the adequacy of the adherence of private children’s homes to notifying the receiving local authority of vulnerable young people being placed in their area.

The department does not collect data on this activity. Ofsted conduct checks on compliance with notification processes as part of a home’s inspection, and if issues are found, this may impact their inspection rating.

The decision to place a child away from their local community should not be taken lightly, which is why it can only be made by those at director of children’s services level. The Care Planning, Placement and Case Review regulations and corresponding statutory guidance makes clear that both the local authority placing a child out of their area and those caring for looked-after children (including children’s homes) must inform the receiving local authority and all relevant safeguarding partners when a child has been placed within and/or leaves their boundaries.