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Councils outsourcing child residential care to private firms are driving down standards of care services, Unison has claimed. Head of social care at the public sector union, Helga Pile, warned councils leaving important services to the mercy of private firms was ‘extremely worrying'. She said: ‘Standards for children taken into care have suffered as more residential care has been privatised. Vulnerable children should not be at the mercy of financial markets. ‘In some areas, children's homes have been bought up by private equity companies, and in the current economic climate, this is extremely worrying.' Her comments followed a warning from the new head of the charity, NSPCC, that councils were leaving children at risk of serious neglect from their parents because the care system was considered a poor alternative. Andrew Flanagan, the new chief executive, said the debate should shift to why foster and residential care were considered ‘not a good option'. Mr Flanagan said: ‘There is a long-standing view that publicly-provided care is not as good as care in the home. There is a presupposition that leaving a child in the home must be better. ‘We need to open up that debate. Why is care not a good option? And if it isn't, that is the thing which needs to be addressed.' Evidence suggests the outcomes for children in foster and residential care are poor. Three-quarters of those leaving care have no qualifications, and within two years, half will be unemployed and one in six homeless. Following the case of Baby P, Ed Balls, the children's secretary, denied that too many children were being left in danger from their families. He said that the current balance was ‘about right'.

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CHILDREN AND YOUNG PEOPLE

Private child care slated

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