Calderdale Council to offer new facilities for care of children

The Council’s Children and Young People’s Scrutiny Board heard the authority intends to provide more of its own places which are expected to be much more economical and benefit children by looking after them in their home area.

Coun Amanda Parsons-Hulse (Lib Dem, Warley) said since she was elected the cost of the placements had alarmed her.

“We have procurement officers looking for the best deal for us even for children with very special needs but some places are somewhere between £3,000 and £4,000 per week.

“It’s got to raise eyebrows – some people are making a lot of money out of this.

“Who regulates the cost? It is a national issue,” she said.

Director of Children and Young People’s Services, Julie Jenkins, said the Children’s Commissioners were looking at the cost and quality of places and the Government had said it was going to undertake a full care review.

“In fostering and residential there is a demand for it and it is driving up costs significantly.

“It is a very, very difficult situation nationally and for us locally.

“It is why we want to invest in and deliver more of our own provision,” she said.

Board Chair Coun Colin Raistrick (Ind, Hipperholme and Lightcliffe) asked if the 15 or so children who did not need specialist care who were currently out of Calderdale could be brought back into the borough.

Cabinet member for Children and Young People’s Services, Coun Adam Wilkinson (Lab, Sowerby Bridge) said this was something he was pushing for with external placements often featuring in the directorate’s budget challenge sessions.

Developing placements in-house on an invest-to-save model made sense, he said, although the COVID-19 pandemic had hindered progress developing a unit at Alloe Field View in north Halifax.

“A way forward might be to work with local partners who charge less than the average placements, which will provide part of the solution in the short to medium term.

“But going forward we want to make more of our own placements,” he said.

Ms Jenkins said options were being developed with the council’s property management team.

Councillors felt that where possible it was better for children to be looked after in their own areas.

Coun Raistrick said: “Even if it’s the same cost, having them in Calderdale that is worth money – it’s not just about the cost.”

Coun Stephen Baines (Con, Northowram and Shelf) said some children had to be cared for away from Calderdale because it was not safe for them, so the issue could never be totally eliminated.