Council plans to set up create and run children's care home in Peterborough
Peterborough City Council is drawing up plans to set up and run its own children’s care home in the city.
The move comes as concerns grow about difficulties encountered by council staff to find the right residential placements for children in care, particularly for older children and young people with complex needs.
Now the council’s ruling cabinet is to be asked to agree to the principle of the local authority establishing and running its own children’s home.
The proposal for a home that could cater for up to four children will go before cabinet on October 1.
Councillors will be told that the move is necessary as the external market has been found at times to be unable to provide a suitable, timely or local placement.
If agreed, the council would develop a detailed business case for a council-owned or leased children’s home and which would examine a property or land that could be used for such a development as well as costs, value for money, timescales and staffing requirements.
Councillor Katy Cole, the council’s cabinet member for children and young people, said: "I take my corporate parenting responsibilities seriously and therefore looking after our own children here in Peterborough, ensuring they thrive, is my top priority.
"Children in our care deserve to live somewhere safe, stable and close to the people and services that matter to them.
"By exploring the creation of a council-run children’s home, we are looking at how we can provide more local options, strengthen the quality of care and make sure decisions are driven by the needs of children and young people.
“This is not about replacing the important role of foster carers, kinship carers or other providers.
"It is about adding to the range of support available so that, where a residential placement is the right option, we have greater influence over the quality, location and stability of that care.
“The next stage will allow us to look carefully at the practical, financial and regulatory requirements before any final decision is made.
"Our priority throughout will be to improve outcomes for children and young people in Peterborough."
The council has a statutory duty to provide care and accommodation for children who enter care.