Councils reveal sharp rise in high-cost children’s care placements

There has been a sharp rise in the number of social care placements costing £10,000 a week, a Local Government Association (LGA) survey has revealed. While in 2018/19 there were 120 such placements, this figure rose to 1,510 in 2022/23 among councils surveyed. Over this period the proportion of councils with at least one of these expensive placements rose from just under a quarter to more than nine in 10. The highest cost highlighted in the survey was £63,000 a week, according to the survey. For most local authorities costs ranged between just under £10,000 and £32,500 a week. Read more.