The research from the County Councils Network (CCN) and IMPOWER finds an increasing amount of young people who come into local authority care are being placed in children's residential homes over 20 miles away from home due to demand outstripping supply and foster carer capacity flatlining.
Cllr Roger Gough, children's services spokesperson for the County Councils Network, said: ‘The Government's commitment to reform is a step in the right direction, but change needs to come urgently and within 12 months of the Spending Review next year. The Government has promised to fix the foundations: it should start by fixing the foundations of children's services.'
Since 2019, the number of children and young people placed in care has risen by 7% (5,690). However, there has been a 45% increase in young people being cared for in children's homes and supported accommodation, an increase of over 4,500 individuals.
Councils spent £6.6bn on children in care last year and the report projects local authorities will be spending almost double this amount - £12bn – in just six years' time if nothing changes.
Due to a chronic lack of availability in local areas and demand continuing to rise, 32% of children in local authority care in 2023 lived in a residential or semi-independent homes over 20 miles from their local area, school and family: 4,600 young people in total. This is an 18% increase since 2019.
If nothing changes, new analysis in the report finds that there could be a record number of young people placed in children's homes: over 22,500 individuals by the end of the decade which would be more than double the amount (10,000) in residential care in 2019. In total, the report projects that almost 10,000 more young people could end up in care by 2030, the total number topping 93,000 across England.
The report recommends: the Government invests £2.6bn in children's services as recommended by the 2022 Independent Review of Children's Social Care for preventative services to keep children with their families; a comprehensive review of foster carer recruitment and retention, and long-term partnerships with care providers which share risk, skills and investment to deliver the right homes for children and young people's needs; and for all children and young people to be cared for within their local area or region; and a phased transition and better co-ordination and planning for placements.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘We want to break down barriers to make sure every child has the opportunities they need to thrive, which includes having a safe and loving home.
‘We're already investing £40m to recruit more foster carers and better support kinship carers, as well as providing £400m to open more children's homes where they're most needed.
‘For too long, the children's social care system has been left to fester, but we are now determined to deliver meaningful reform once and for all to deliver better life chances for some of the most vulnerable children in our country.'
