BASW England statement on Government’s proposed standards for unregulated accommodation

BASW England is deeply concerned about the Department for Education’s intention to develop what we perceive to be inadequate and unethical standards for children in care aged 16 and 17 living in unregulated accommodation.

The new proposals, released last week, are outlined in the government’s response to a recent consultation on regulating supporting accommodation. The cost of developing them is £123 million – over 60% of what was offered in the review of children’s social care.

There are currently over 7,000 children of this age living in unregulated accommodation such as adult homeless shelters, caravans and bedsits. At least 34 children this age have died over the past 6 years in this type of accommodation. The government decision to outlaw these settings for children 15 and under in September 2021 was met by significant criticism, given the fact this arbitrarily discriminates against children 16 and 17 who face similar risks. It is discriminatory and wrong to deprive a child of care – no good parent would arbitrarily stop caring for their child once they reached 16.

We are extremely disappointed by the content of this report; this could have been a pivotal moment to put an end to the desperate neglect, poverty, and exploitation faced by children in unregulated accommodation. The potential for some private companies to further profit from these settings, rather than vulnerable children in need of care remains a very real concern.

The proposed standards for care-less accommodation, which will be regulated by OFSTED, are markedly inferior to children’s homes standards. They include plans to:

  • Allow children to share accommodation with potentially unsafe adults with their own complex needs or criminal history.
  • Waive the need for providers to supply a door lock to children living in shared housing with adults, such as in supported lodgings. Given the recent Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse, which highlighted the extent to which sexual abuse occurs in institutional settings, these is a grave and unthinkable safeguarding failure.
  • Approve mobile homes such as caravan sites, boats or tents, despite widespread concern about lack of safety and security.
  • Staff/providers are not obliged to help children to store, handle or administer their medication.
  • Omit the need for day-to-day care or adult supervision.
  • Allow unqualified staff to operate in these settings, only requiring ‘experience’ which could be widely interpreted. This is unacceptable given the complex needs and levels of trauma faced by children in care.
  • Allow OFSTED inspections to occur only once every 3 years, and in a sample of homes, meaning many children may never benefit from the independent scrutiny an inspection could provide.

The so-called standards above would be tantamount to institutionalised neglect in any other setting. In depriving children of the fundamental need to be cared for, the government is failing its duty as a corporate parent.

This shift represents a significant structural and political change to the care system. Since the implementation of the Children Act 1989, the system has attempted to replicate the loving stability and longevity found in families. However, by annexing children into so-called supported accommodation, the system is being weakened and diluted. If children can be discriminated on based on age, this may lead to other marginalised groups being targeted. Indeed, the government insists that care-less settings are appropriate for ‘some’ children. But as it stands, over half are from black or other global majority backgrounds. There must be accountability as to how and why such decisions are made.

Many of the existing protections for care leavers – including ‘Staying Close’ and ‘Staying Put’ are not readily available for children in these settings. That any child in care should be excluded from much-needed support in their future is an indictment on the system, and not something we would expect from a ‘once in a generation review into children’s social care’, which failed to meaningfully address the issue of unregulated accommodation despite urges from #KeepCaringto18 campaign, social workers and people with lived experience.

BASW England implores that the government behaves as any caring parent would, by reversing its decision to introduce careless standards for children aged 16 and 17 and ensuring equality of care for all children.