Councils often face a “last-minute dash” to find suitable placements for children, particularly those with complex needs, “due to a lack of enough suitable accommodation, and the need to find placements quickly”, the inspectorate finds.
Local authorities told Ofsted of “tension” in their relationships with some private providers and suggested that providers can “cherry-pick” certain children.
“Representatives of local authorities thought that providers were increasingly refusing placements for ‘ease’ and because they knew that other referrals would come along soon,” the report states.
One senior commissioning officer told Ofsted that they believe “providers are waiting and holding out for those slightly easier children, and that the local authorities trying to find homes for children with more complex needs are all competing for the same places, so providers can charge what they like”.
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