Bradford Council to buy extra bed spaces for children in care

Currently there are around 890 young people in council care, some live with family or friends, the majority in foster homes and some in residential homes.

Due to pressures on spaces, some of these homes are outside the district. And some of the spaces in Bradford care homes can be used for young people from other parts of Yorkshire, putting strain on accommodation available for Bradford youngsters.

The council is now planning to buy 12 spaces that will be specifically for Bradford young people in a contract worth over £2 million. The council says it will help children in care stay close to their homes and keep a “constant” in their lives.

There are currently 14 children in “R1” residential homes, with the average cost of a bed in a six bed home being £2,261 a week. The 12 beds the council is looking to purchase will cost £1.4 million a year.

Last year the council overspent on external residential places by £2.3 million.

The spaces will be bought from the White Rose Looked After Children Residential Framework, a partnership of 12 Yorkshire and Humber councils, and officers say buying the extra spaces in the district will reduce costs over the coming years.

They would be in Bradford, or within 20 miles of the district, and be for young people aged 10-18 with 24 hour care, staffing and support, and tailored for the children’s education, health, cultural and social needs.

They would be placed in the accommodation on a short to medium term basis.

Coun Val Slater, Executive for Health and Wellbeing, said: “It is distressing enough for a child having to be taken into local authority care, so we need to do everything we can to keep them within their local area, near to family, friends and school.

“This at least means they have something constant in their lives.”

The council’s Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee will discuss the proposals at a meeting in City Hall on Tuesday at 4.30pm.