WIREDGOV

Councillor David Simmonds, Chairman of the Local Government Association's Children and Young People Board, said:

"The biggest concern for councils is the welfare of the children they care for, and the flexibility to place children away from the area where abuse or neglect has brought them into the care system can be a vital way of giving them a new beginning away from these problems.

"There are very good reasons why some children in residential homes are placed outside their home area. This could be for their own safety, to break gang affiliation, to place them near other family members or to access specialist services.

"The historic problem of the clustering of lots of children's homes in a small number of areas that may suffer from higher deprivation is an area that we agree needs to be addressed. That is why councils, with their knowledge and understanding of local areas, should have greater say over where private care homes are set up.

"Residential children's homes play an important role in caring for some of the most vulnerable children in society at difficult times in their lives and councils have a key role in making this happen.

"The LGA is working with the Government and others on the reform of children's homes to address the current problems and to help make sure the system is the best it can be for the children who depend upon it."

Contact

Greg Burns, Senior Media Relations Officer 
Local Government Association
Telephone: 020 7664 3184
Email: greg.burns@local.gov.uk
Media office (for out-of-hours contact): 020 7664 3333