The government should step in to stop private firms charging exorbitant fees, says councillor Chris Carubia
A councillor has condemned the “huge profits” being made by private childcare firms after revealing a local authority was paying £42,000 a week for one child under its protection.
Wirral councillor Chris Carubia said the figure was the highest he knew of, as he called on the government to regulate childcare placement costs.
He said it was needed to prevent private firms “setting exorbitant fees” as council costs were “spiralling”.
The BBC has contacted the government.
The authority has spent nearly £28m on the children in its care in 2023 which, according to the councillor, equates to an average of £5,887 a week for a placement in a children’s home, the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) said.
Mr Carubia, the vice chairman of the children’s committee and deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat group, said private companies were “benefitting from huge profits made off the backs of our most vulnerable children in care”.
Post Covid-19 demand
He argued…
