Stop local councils from changing family homes(C3) to private residential institutions(C2)
Stop local councils from changing family homes(C3) to private residential institutions(C2)
The Issue
Many local neighbourhoods and communities are being destroyed by the growing trend in planning applications to change family homes(Class C3) to residential institutions (class C2) including children's care homes.
The growing trend in these types of planning applications indirectly undermines foster care which is now on a decline hence more children and young people are taken into care homes.
Recent reports have highlighted the poorer outcomes and financial impact from private children's care care homes funded through taxpayers by local councils. This model is unsustainable yet many councils continue to ignore evidence and advice provided nationally with many of these going through planning application processes delegated to planning officers with limited expertise in this complex area. These application approvals go through very rapid timescales with limited evidence and scrutiny beyond planning material considerations which are not even relevant to children's social care statutory regulations or standards and approvals proceed in spite of valid objections from local communities.
Planning officers and, sometimes if referred, planning committees who make these application decisions do not have the expertise to consider wider decision making on the requirements of services for vulnerable children.
What is at stake?
According to Ofsted, the majority (83%) of children’s homes included in a paper published on 8 July 2022, were privately owned on 31 March 2020, which was an increase from 69% on the same date in 2016. This occurred alongside ongoing growth in the number of children’s homes and, to a lesser extent, places in homes, as well as a slow decrease in local authority ownership of children’s homes, from 22% to 13%.
This pattern is eroding the culture of foster care as private care providers are commissioned based on rates which are exorbitant compared to payments made to foster carers. This is fuelling the trend in planning applications for change of use from C3 to C2.
The reports and data published in the past couple of years and months indicate that the system cannot cope with the cost pressures and unless this is addressed urgently, many councils will continue to use this flawed approach to addressing the need for suitable care environments for vulnerable children, with little or no challenge.
Why act now?
We need to act now as many families struggle with the cost of living and pressures on them, sadly many more children and young people are moving into care. This means that private providers are ceasing this opportunity and loopholes created by irrelevant planning rules to apply to planning departments to approve changes to residential homes in a view to capitalise on the demand for care. Many of these private care homes do not meet the desired expectations and continue to be commissioned in spite of many children and young people voicing their concerns from lived experiences. More private care home providers are commissioned in comparison to foster carers and with the growing decline in fostering many planning applications, to change family homes to children’s care homes, are being expedited to meet the supposed demand for care.
STOP planning departments from making changes to local areas and ensure that any applications for change of use from C3 to C2 for children's care homes goes to a separate independent regulatory body or group with appropriate expertise to consider ALL of the associated factors and not just material planning considerations which are of little consequence for such plans.
Some relevant data and various recommendations can be found below:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622006293#bib29
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-care-data-in-england-2022
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/26/england-private-childrens-homes-inadequate-ofsted
https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/children-and-families-at-risk/looked-after-children
160
The Issue
Many local neighbourhoods and communities are being destroyed by the growing trend in planning applications to change family homes(Class C3) to residential institutions (class C2) including children's care homes.
The growing trend in these types of planning applications indirectly undermines foster care which is now on a decline hence more children and young people are taken into care homes.
Recent reports have highlighted the poorer outcomes and financial impact from private children's care care homes funded through taxpayers by local councils. This model is unsustainable yet many councils continue to ignore evidence and advice provided nationally with many of these going through planning application processes delegated to planning officers with limited expertise in this complex area. These application approvals go through very rapid timescales with limited evidence and scrutiny beyond planning material considerations which are not even relevant to children's social care statutory regulations or standards and approvals proceed in spite of valid objections from local communities.
Planning officers and, sometimes if referred, planning committees who make these application decisions do not have the expertise to consider wider decision making on the requirements of services for vulnerable children.
What is at stake?
According to Ofsted, the majority (83%) of children’s homes included in a paper published on 8 July 2022, were privately owned on 31 March 2020, which was an increase from 69% on the same date in 2016. This occurred alongside ongoing growth in the number of children’s homes and, to a lesser extent, places in homes, as well as a slow decrease in local authority ownership of children’s homes, from 22% to 13%.
This pattern is eroding the culture of foster care as private care providers are commissioned based on rates which are exorbitant compared to payments made to foster carers. This is fuelling the trend in planning applications for change of use from C3 to C2.
The reports and data published in the past couple of years and months indicate that the system cannot cope with the cost pressures and unless this is addressed urgently, many councils will continue to use this flawed approach to addressing the need for suitable care environments for vulnerable children, with little or no challenge.
Why act now?
We need to act now as many families struggle with the cost of living and pressures on them, sadly many more children and young people are moving into care. This means that private providers are ceasing this opportunity and loopholes created by irrelevant planning rules to apply to planning departments to approve changes to residential homes in a view to capitalise on the demand for care. Many of these private care homes do not meet the desired expectations and continue to be commissioned in spite of many children and young people voicing their concerns from lived experiences. More private care home providers are commissioned in comparison to foster carers and with the growing decline in fostering many planning applications, to change family homes to children’s care homes, are being expedited to meet the supposed demand for care.
STOP planning departments from making changes to local areas and ensure that any applications for change of use from C3 to C2 for children's care homes goes to a separate independent regulatory body or group with appropriate expertise to consider ALL of the associated factors and not just material planning considerations which are of little consequence for such plans.
Some relevant data and various recommendations can be found below:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953622006293#bib29
https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/childrens-social-care-data-in-england-2022
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/26/england-private-childrens-homes-inadequate-ofsted
https://learning.nspcc.org.uk/children-and-families-at-risk/looked-after-children
160
Petition created on 1 August 2023