Child in care sent more than 250 miles away from home as Northamptonshire figures revealed

Out of the county’s 228 children placed in residential care homes this year, 45 percent were living more than 20 miles away from their home with a care provider.

The Northamptonshire Children’s Trust (NCT), which is responsible for running children’s services for both West and North Northamptonshire Councils (WNC and NNC), said there are occasions where it is “best” to place a child out of the county, but admits that there is otherwise always a preference to keep children in Northamptonshire.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the LDRS shows that one child was placed 267 miles from their home. A similar pattern is evident dating back to the NCT’s creation in 2021, with the furthest distance peaking at 301 miles and dropping down to 267 miles in 2023.

The number of children being placed in care has also grown rapidly in the county, with 175 children being placed by the council in care homes in 2021 rising to 228 in October of this year.

Responding in conjunction with the two local authorities, an NCT spokesperson said: “There are occasions when a decision is made that it is best to place a child out of county and this will usually be for safeguarding reasons otherwise it is always a preference to keep children within the county. However with the number of children with more complex needs coming into care increasing significantly, these cannot always be met locally and it is then that placements out of county are used to best meet the needs of the child or young person.

“It is critical that children are placed in homes that can meet their needs so that they have a safe and secure environment to thrive with the right support and links to family. Numbers of children coming into care is now stabilising and, in addition to ensuring we have sufficient homes to meet need, we work hard to both keep children at home and support children to go back to the family home from care when this is appropriate.”

Not only is the demand for children’s care services expanding, but prices are also increasingly poking holes in councils’ bursting budgets as the social care market is rife with profiteering.

Last month, the government issued a policy paper setting out ambitions to fix the broken care market, tackle profiteering and ensure the system is working effectively for vulnerable children and families.

The Children’s Trust was the single biggest cost to both NNC and WNC last year, going a massive £31 million over budget. Both authorities managed to claw themselves back from the spiralling costs of the demand-led sector and finish the year on budget, but they required using up contingency budgets and raiding reserves.

Recent financial reports indicate a similar position for 2025/26, with the trust predicting a £9.8 million overspend just over halfway through the financial year. WNC has pointed to increased average placement costs and higher complexity of need driving spending up.

The county’s most expensive placement this year cost £16,096 a week — or £837,000 a year for a child in the council’s care. In the last four years, the highest weekly cost has increased by almost £4,000, with the NCT reporting their most expensive placement in 2021 as £12,600 per week.

A spokesperson said WNC, NNC and NCT are working together to address the national cost pressures on homes for children in care. It said that both WNC and NNC have committed to a £40 million investment to create their own homes for children in care.

They added: “Nationally there are significant cost challenges in homes for children in care. There is national recognition that the placements market needs reform as cited in the Children’s social care market study and also in the Independent review of children’s social care.”

“The council investment will have a positive impact on more suitable provision locally, the development of WNC and NNC early help offers will also do more to help families to stay together rather than children coming into care.

“NCT, WNC and NNC continue to work together to support better outcomes for all our children and find ways in which we can be more efficient and effective while always having children’s safety and good long term outcomes at the heart of our plans.”