Illegal Children’s Homes

Every night across England hundreds of children are going to sleep in illegal homes where they are often isolated and left without appropriate care. Most of these are run by private organisations which have the least amount of oversight and scrutiny, leaving children at an increased risk of harm.

There is no process for checking the quality of the care they receive or the suitability of those adults providing the care – because, by law, these homes should not exist.    

My report today provides stark evidence to what I have long been concerned about: children in places that are largely extremely high cost and poor quality. 

As Children’s Commissioner, I am deeply concerned about illegal children’s homes and extremely worried that profit making by private companies has been prioritised over the wellbeing of England’s most vulnerable children. 

I recently used my statutory powers to get a snapshot of what is happening to these young people. It gives us, for the first time, a picture across England of how many children are being placed in these unregistered, unregulated locations and what these are like. 

I have found that 775 children were in unregistered accommodation on 1^st September this year but I strongly believe the total number of children impacted by this issue is much higher.  

Official published statistics show the number of unregistered homes reported to the regulator Ofsted has exploded since 2020. Its data for the previous financial year shows that 1,056 unregistered placements were reported, suggesting that there is under-reporting of the use of unregistered placements for children.   

My own Help at Hand advocacy team has stepped in to support many children in precarious living environments. These children are often highly vulnerable with complex needs.   

The findings in this report are shocking. They demonstrate some of the most extreme interventions the state can make in children’s social care. Almost a third (31%) of the children in unregistered placements were subject to a court-ordered Deprivation of Liberty order.  

The quality of placements is poor, and the costs are extortionate. Alarmingly, 33 children were in placements that had each cost over £1 million.  

Altogether, the estimated yearly cost of unregistered placements to English local authorities is almost £440 million, much of which goes to private profit. That is a cost to the taxpayer that could easily be reduced with earlier intervention in a child’s life and effective local planning and resourcing, instead of a system that relies heavily on emergency crisis care. 

These high costs are not driving high standards. The quality and type of these illegal placements varies. Some are rented flats or houses, some are referred to as ‘supported’ accommodation, but many children were being looked after in holiday camps, activity centres or caravans while others were placed in holiday rental properties like AirBnBs. 

And while we might often think of these kinds of placements being reserved for older children on the cusp of legal adulthood, nearly half are 15 or under. Tragically, some of the children in these illegal homes are pre-school age. 

How can we talk about protecting and promoting the early years of a child’s life if we are failing to protect the basic rights of a safe and loving home for the youngest children? 

The use of these homes is a national scandal – vulnerable children are being failed which should never be allowed. If we wouldn’t allow it for our own children, we cannot allow it to happen for those for whom the state is the corporate parent.  

We have an opportunity to tackle this now and I welcome the urgency with which the government’s Children’s Wellbeing Bill is being taken forward. However, its measures need to go much further and be far tougher so we can crack down on these illegal homes and ensure that every child goes to bed every night safe, well and properly protected. 

Read the report here.