However, instead of focusing on how to stimulate the supply of places the government has decided it is the process of commissioning that needs reform (see special report).
Its analysis is that sufficiency is a problem of market management on the part of local authorities who lack the contracting muscle to dictate terms to providers and need to work together on a broader footprint to access a wider range of places. To that end it has backed proposals in the Care Review for regional care co-operatives (RCC) as a way of reorganising care commissioning.
There is some logic to adopting a regional approach: most notably, that some children in care now need specialist therapeutic support most authorities cannot provide alone, working together should encourage the sharing of good practice among commissioners, and consolidating some processes regionally has the potential to reduce costs.
However, RCCs on their own are unlikely to solve the shortage of placements.
The rationale behind RCCs feeds the “them and us” narrative that has developed between public sector commissioners and the largely private companies that provide care. Shifting the balance of power so that commissioners have the upper hand in setting contract terms is unrealistic in today's care market – and if it is pursued could result in the mass closure of settings with catastrophic consequences for children. It's not just providers who say this but the Association of Directors of Children's Services (ADCS) too.
The ADCS has long advocated for the removal of profit from the care sector. There is a strong ethical argument, and, as has been seen in the rail industry, there is growing recognition in government that relying on the private sector to deliver public services does not always work. But this would be a long-term process; action is needed now.
It is an inescapable fact that councils have become overly reliant on private care placements – since 2016, the proportion of places provided by charities has fallen from 16 to four per cent. There needs to be a wider range of providers of all types for commissioners to work with and the government should focus on policies that encourage the development of a mixed economy.
Creating additional capacity by investing in council and charity-run provision is likely to be the best route to solving the sufficiency crisis in the short and long term.
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Derren Hayes is editor of Children & Young People Now
