Increasing house prices and rising building material costs mean Nottinghamshire County Council needs significantly more funding to deliver four new two-bedroom children’s homes and ease rising demand for social care for young people.
Council documents show the authority must increase its budget by 25 per cent to deliver the new homes, which were green-lit nearly two years ago to bring more services in-house and tackle a foster care market which has been decribed as “in crisis”.
The council approved the programme in March 2020 just days before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, and said at the time the new homes would offer a “more appropriate, community-based setting” for the service.
Figures show there are currently about 1,000 children in the care of Nottinghamshire County Council, a rise from 780 in September 2017.
About 150 of these children, who are mainly aged between 10 and 16 years old, live in children’s homes.
The numbers have continued to “increase markedly” over the years in line with the national picture, but come amid the backdrop of increased difficulties for councils in managing the numbers of children needing care.
A national shortage of foster carers and increasing charges from the private sector are making the service more costly for the council, with some foster agencies seeing a 20 to 33 per cent rise in their profit margins.
In November, Colin Pettigrew, the county council’s corporate director for children’s services, told councillors he agreed with an assessment by the Competition and Marketing Authority and an independent review into children’s social care, suggesting the market was “in crisis”.
About 90 per cent of the current 150 children’s home placements are provided by the private sector in Nottinghamshire.
The authority has already committed to closing its Minster View Care Home, in Southwell, and has outlined plans to reinvest in more community-led facilities.
Now the council is looking to boost its investment in the two-bed homes programme, which was put on hold shortly after being approved as the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
The programme was initially given a budget of £380,000 per home, which was based on 2019 estimates.
However, a 16 per cent rise in average house prices and a further 17.6 rise in building material costs since November 2019 means each home is now estimated to cost about £475,000.
The council’s finance committee will be recommended to approve a 25 per cent increase in the project’s budget, equating to £380,000, when it meets on January 12.
It comes as the authority revealed the location for one of its new two-bed homes will be at Hagg Farm Cottage near Ilkeston, Derbyshire.
The council estimates this home will cost significantly more to deliver than initially budgeted, at £693,000, with the committee also recommended to approve the additional £258,000 required.
However, the council states the new home will prove cost-effective, reducing the cost of placements by about £1,000 per week for each child and also generating interest from other East Midlands authorities.
The report adds: “Expertise would be developed in stabilisation, rehabilitation, step-down, thorough assessment and close matching to suitable placements in order to prevent admission of children into long-term care.
“[It will develop] experiences which would provide children with skills, attitudes, knowledge and resilience to maintain positive lifestyles in difficult circumstances.
“Children would be linked into long-term support from the youth service beyond their time at Hagg Farm.”
The report confirms the new home would be owned by Nottinghamshire County Council and operated by Homes2Inspire, and is located close to the council-run Hagg Farm outdoor education facility.
It adds that the council plans to purchase other properties for the final four homes in the 2023/23 financial year.
Two separate two-bed properties, which were initially approved alongside the wider programme, made progress in 2021. One is on track to open this month and the second is due to be open in the spring.
Documents do not confirm where these two properties are located.
