Vulnerable Isle of Wight children have had to be sent as far as Scotland to be looked after, due to a lack of available care placements on the Island.
The Isle of Wight Council is forking out millions of pounds to relocate them to the mainland.
Since 2013, the number of off-Island placements for children in the Isle of Wight Council’s care has risen 365% — from 20 in 2013 to 93 in 2023.
During the past 10 years, the council has had to find 318 suitable placements for Island children, costing the authority £32,464,445, a recent Freedom of Information request has found.
Some of those placements have been just over the Solent, in Hampshire, Southampton and Portsmouth.
Others have been further afield in Wales, Scotland and County Durham, due to particular needs or availability. In the last 10 years, 6 children have gone to placements in Wales and four to Scotland.
The Isle of Wight Council says it prioritises the needs of children in its care and works hard to ensure any placement best meets the child’s needs. The authority said it always places children on the Island where possible and as close to the Island when a placement cannot be found locally that meets a child’s needs. It says it also works hard to bring children back to the Island wherever possible and is looking to increase capacity so more children can stay here.
At the end of March, the council had 295 children in its care, of which 61.4% were placed on the Island.
Children placed on the mainland are in a range of placements, from foster care to secure children’s homes and specialist residential children’s homes.
Specialist residential placements are not available on the Island and there is a national shortage, the authority said, so are significantly more expensive due to the additional support and interventions the children require.
The placement of one child alone has cost the authority more than £1.4 million over 2 years. Between April 2022 and March 2023, costs rocketed with the Isle of Wight Council paying £7,276,983 for off-Island care — £2.5 million more than the year before.
The average placement over the 10 years has cost £102,089.
The council says the costs of the specialist places are increasing nationally, driven largely by profit —a problem which has been raised with the government through the Association of Directors of Children’s Services and by the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care.
UPDATE ON THURSDAY 29th JUNE – Following the article, Local Democracy Reporter Louise Hill asked the Isle of Wight Council why the number of children in its care being sent off the Island had risen so much in the last 10 years but the council has not commented as yet.
The council also did not comment on the lack of specialist places it owns and provides for vulnerable children on the Island and what it was doing to provide more.
Austerity and cuts to local government clearly doing their job.
Really? £1.4 million for one child. If the cuts are so bad, where does the £1.4 million come from?
Please enlighten me.
During the past 10 years, the council has had to find 318 suitable placements for Island children, costing the authority £32,464,445
Does it cost an actual parent who actually looks after their own kids just over £100k a year – no it doesn’t – so why are the stupid council actually paying over £100k a year for each of those 318 kids – clearly the dimwits that work in the council aren’t even looking at the actual cost.
And your solution is what, exactly?
Open new places on the Island?
Run by whom?
Where?
Would you be happy to have a place for these kids on your road?
my solution is for the council to stop allowing theirselves to be ripped off – no where in this county does it cost a £100k a year to look after a kid, no where.
Obviously you are the expert.
Let’s have an example of a cheaper option.
To take profit out of the equation, the council could always operate their own children’s homes. But that’s another thing councils don’t like to do anymore.
It’s difficult to place children potentially so close to previous homes, everybody knows every body here . How do you keep children safe from abusers, coercion, sex traffickers etc when no where is safe on this island. Children who have extra needs do need specialist placements with specially trained foster carers who are prepared to not work and take a significant cut in potential pay to care and potentially be robbed, abused, assaulted by the parents or children. It is specialist work and specialists cost money. Maybe the island should invest in providing the parents with more support to make better choices in the long run remember the parents aren’t specialist’s either.
This is horrific. Another example of conservative rule. These poor kids deserve better. Heads should hang in shame.
Yet nothing done to support parenting to prevent breakdowns and Foster parents on Island mainly work for Agency now and have children from other Authorities as no support from IWC. Placements on mainland on whole not suitable,if they have vacancies then not so good,( good ones don’t have much turnover) and yes they are only profit driven. There are some residential care unit’s on Island.
Unless IWC start’s early intervention and starts to support and value it’s own Foster parents this situation will only get worse.
Heaven forbid that actual parents raise the brats they brought into the world – they are their problem, not the taxpayers.
Must have been a 5 star hotel. The placement of one child alone has cost the authority more than £1.4 million over 2 years.
No wonder our council tax costs so much. Unlimited money, for those who play the system, overseen by social services.