Question to the Department for Education:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact that living more than 20 miles from home has on (1) the mental health and wellbeing, and (2) educational outcomes, of children in the care system in England.

Local authorities have a statutory duty set out in Section 22(3) of the Children’s Act 1989 to make sure that there is sufficient provision in their area to meet the needs of children in their care.

The department recognises that there are not enough of the right homes in the right places for children in care to live in. The way that local authorities currently plan for, commission and provide homes for children is at times not sufficient. This can result in some children living far from where they consider home and can have a negative impact on their wellbeing and outcomes. We want to reduce out of area placements, but sometimes circumstances mean it is the right decision for a child to be placed outside their home authority.

Information on placements, distance from the home placement and the location of the placement can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/children-looked-after-in-england-including-adoptions/2022.

In response to the urgent calls from the Competition and Markets Authority and the Care Review to transform the way care is provided to children, the government is working to drive forward improvements at a national, regional and local level to increase sufficiency and improve standards of care and regulations.

By 2027, we will see an increase in the availability of high-quality, stable and loving homes for every child in care local to where they are from. To achieve this, the department is supporting local authorities to increase care placements and ensure they meet children’s needs, with £259 million of capital funding for secure and open children’s homes. We will also review legislation, regulations and standards of care to ensure the needs of all children in care are met.

We are also investing £10 million to develop Regional Care Co-operatives (RCCs) to plan, commission and deliver children’s social care placements. Through operating on a larger scale and developing specialist capabilities, the RCCs will be able to develop a wide range of places to better meet children’s needs. This, in turn, should lead to improved placement stability and fewer out of area placements.