The challenges faced by commissioners and providers of residential children's care were laid bare in a report by MPs in March.
The report by the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, which looked at the Department for Education's track record on supporting children in care, was critical of the lack of progress made in improving outcomes.
Commissioning of care places by councils was also called into question, with the report revealing a system impaired by placement breakdowns and a lack of knowledge about what good-quality, cost-effective care looks like.
MPs want to see the next government do more to support local commissioning, concluding that over the past five years "too little attention has been placed on improving commissioning and the DfE has done too little to ensure the market works in the interest of children".
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