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'National emergency' as hundreds of children 'contained' illegally in holiday lets
19 September 2024, 05:57 | Updated: 19 September 2024, 14:57
Hundreds of vulnerable children are being "contained" illegally in holiday lets, Airbnbs and caravans across the UK, because of a chronic national shortage of children's secure care placements.
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The children, some of whom are younger than 12, are subjected to what's known as a Deprivation of Liberty order. It allows them to essentially be detained and isolated, and placed under constant supervision by agency staff.
Data seen by LBC, from the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, shows the number of young people this has happened to has rocketed by more than 500% since 2020.
The children, who often have complex needs like autism, are unable to go to school, socialise with friends or access money.
Former Children's Commissioner Anne Longfield warned the situation is an "emergency" and urged ministers to launch a "crisis intervention", describing the children as the most vulnerable in society.
Ms Longfield said they’re deemed "too complicated to help", resulting in their existence being "warehoused" by local authorities who are unable to find proper placements for them.
"It was like a holding cell... he couldn't function, he couldn't eat"
LBC spoke to the mother of John*, who became suicidal after being sent to live alone in a "basic" terraced house 150 miles away from home.
Tanya* was told her 17-year-old son should be deprived of his liberty for his own safety, after being groomed into a county lines gang.
She told LBC she was led to believe the order was an "opportunity to improve his life" and remove him from an increasingly risky situation, but the reality soon became clear.
She described how John "couldn't function or eat" after living there for six months, saying he "couldn't focus on anything other than coming home - he was mentally absolutely broken. He just felt that there was nothing for him in this world, that nobody wanted him".
Tanya described the property as akin to a "holding cell", with bare painted floorboards and no wardrobe, forcing him to live out of a suitcase.
John, who has autism, was supervised 24/7 by three agency care staff. Tanya said it became "apparent from day one" that they weren't properly trained in special needs and trauma informed care.
He never received education or counselling, with the idea of any rehabilitation becoming "a distant fantasy".
Tanya believed her son planned to take his own life, so she broke the court order and risked being arrested to bring him back to his family home. But to her surprise, no one came looking for John.
"I just saw this broken little boy who wanted to end his life, and I just couldn't take him back there. And I thought, well, they can come and arrest me, but I will fight them", she said.
"So I brought him home... and actually nothing happened. I realised then that it was all just a ruse. That nobody really cared where he was. As long as he wasn't causing trouble to anyone - he could disappear".
"We have to look ourselves in the mirror"
1,249 children were subjected to such orders in one year, between June 2022 and July 2023.
But because of the huge lack of secure places, at least half - approximately 600 - were sent to live in the ad hoc properties, including holiday lets. They are illegal for under 16s because they're not regulated by Ofsted.
Data from the Ministry of Justice estimates around half of the children deprived of their liberty between July and September 2023 were under 16. A quarter were aged between 16-18, while 7.2% were under 12-years-old.
What's more, it's costing the public billions of pounds.
Local authorities have reported a major increase in the number of children's social care placements costing at least £10,000 per week, as private providers take advantage of the shortage.
Ms Longfield told LBC: "Often these places can be hotel bedrooms, caravans, boats... and they will have a team of people around them, a team that will watch them constantly. Their ability to have any resemblance of a normal life is out the window.
"We should be astonished that we're putting the most vulnerable children in to settings that don't have the highest level of supervision and care. We have to look ourselves in the mirror and say, surely, the most vulnerable children should be getting the best help possible.
"We can't tun our back on these kids", she urged. "We've allowed them to get to this place in the first stage without offering them help. At this point to say, 'we can't do anything about it, we just have to warehouse your existence', is completely unacceptable and intolerable on any level".
"There are no witnesses"
Carolyne Willow, the director of charity Article 39, expressed major alarm at the children being "out of view" surrounded by a team of adult staff.
"These are not necessarily trained, experienced and qualified staff. That rings alarm bells", she told LBC.
"When a child is in an institutional setting on their own, away from their families, and they are the only child in a property with up to six staff that have been brought together in an ad hoc, chaotic set of circumstances, they are vulnerable to mistreatment."
She said the children were unprotected with a "lack of witnesses and independent scrutiny" with Ofsted unable to regulate the homes.
Article 39 is in touch with advocates who have managed to contact some of the children.
"Children are desperately lonely. They feel lost, because they don't know when these restrictions will be lifted, and they're frequently many miles from home. They will feel helpless and afraid", Ms Willow said.
She told LBC their day-to-day life involves "sitting around or lying on their bed with very little to do".
"We don't know they are safe"
Ofsted urged the government to introduce new powers that would allow them to act against illegal providers more quicky.
Yvette Stanley, Ofsted's National Director for Social Care and Early Years Regulation, said the regulator was "concerned that many children, usually those with the most complex needs, are living in places with the least oversight".
"Without that regulatory oversight, we are unable to know whether they are getting the care and support they need", she said.
A national shortage of registered placements means local authorities are increasingly struggling to find care for the growing numbers of children being deprived of their liberty.
Ms Stanley said it means that "too often, they're placed in illegal, unregistered settings where we don’t know they are safe or if the people caring for them have the right skills to meet their needs".
"It is important that providers register, and that local authorities play their part to ensure vulnerable children are only placed in registered settings. The previous government promised us additional powers in 2021 that would enable us to take action against illegal providers more quickly – these powers are urgently needed, in the interests of our most vulnerable children", she said.
The Family Rights Group, who supported Tanya, have called for "urgent reform" of the system, and led a call to the Ministry of Justice for better access for legal support for families where children are deprived of their liberty.
A Department for Education spokesperson called LBC's findings "devastating" and said it show's young people are being "let down by a system that should be protecting them".
“All children should live in settings that meet their needs and keep them safe. We are committed to increasing provision, and our Children's Wellbeing Bill will strengthen regulation to make sure every child has a safe, loving home", the spokesperson said.
*'John' and 'Tanya's names have been changed to protect their identity. 'Tanya' is being supported by the Family Rights Group, who's free and confidential advice line can be contacted on 0808 801 0366.
'National emergency' as hundreds of children 'contained' illegally in holiday lets
