The number of children in care in Stockport has risen significantly due to the cost of living crisis and the fallout from Covid-19. Before the pandemic, the number of ‘looked after children’ in the borough was around the 350 mark - but that has now increased to nearly 500 councillors were told this week.
A town hall scrutiny meeting heard the authority’s children and family services was on course for a £4.6m deficit - with ‘child looked after placements’ accounting for 82pc of that figure. Michael Cullen, the council deputy chief executive, told members he was concerned the council’s overall deficit may ‘grow significantly’ over the financial year - noting he had ‘not seen such volatility and risk within local government finance’ in his 30-year career to date.
And he said current economic conditions were having an impact on ‘the financial resilience’ of families which was ‘manifesting itself in a number of looked after children.’ The council tries to support families so children can stay at home, or into foster care with external care places being ‘a last resort’ Mr Cullen added.
READ MORE : Call for fire stations to be used as 'safe havens' for people fleeing domestic abuse in Stockport
“But what we are now seeing up and down the country is the cost of external placements costing tens of thousands of pounds,” he said. “One case can easily cost us upwards of £0.5m to £1m. It’s that level of volatility and risk that I felt warranted me highlighting to members my view at the moment.”
Committee chair Coun Tom McGee said the situation was ‘difficult’ as authorities across the country were chasing a similar number of care placements, forcing prices up. He said it may be worth reconsidering the option of the council setting up more of its own children’s homes - albeit this would only have a limited impact.
“We only have two children’s homes of our own, maybe we ought to be looking at a couple of smaller units that, when that demand goes, could then be sold back on the market for residential use,” he said. “That’s tiny, I have to say, it’s tiny even if we did that the demand for care places. "
"The real issue here is families not being able to cope, isn’t it? That’s the real issue in most cases and some of these will want to be in Stockport and some will want to be away.” He also told the committee that a lot of Greater London children are housed in Stockport children’s homes because, compared to the capital, ‘our prices are cheap’.
“We might think they are extravagant, or extortionate. But compared to what they are looking at to buy in, it’s cheap to buy here,” added Coun McGee. So there’s a real distortion - it’s almost perverse what’s happening. Stockport council corporate, resource management and governance (CRMG) scrutiny committee met at the town hall on Tuesday night.
READ NEXT:
- His Majesty King Charles III releases first statement since becoming Britain's monarch
- The day-by-day plan for all the key events following the Queen's death
- When does Prince Charles become King following the death of Queen Elizabeth?
- Huge crowds gather outside Buckingham Palace to pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II
