A MULTI-million plan aimed at keeping more children in care in Devon will aim to “remove the amoral aspect of profit” in services for vulnerable young people.

A total of £156 million from existing budgets has been pledged over 10 years to a prospective partnership that would see more local options for children and young people.

This will include providing 20 specialist, high-needs foster carers, including some to support under-13s, with the help of a dedicated children’s home, and three or four small therapeutic schools, one of which would specialise in primary-aged children.

Around £8.8 million will also be borrowed over six years to purchase or renovate 12 properties that could become small children’s homes.

A total of 116 children lived in children’s homes under Devon County Council’s care last year, but 42 were sent out of county to places as far away as Liverpool, Essex and even Scotland, according to data presented to Devon County Council’s cabinet meeting this week.

Furthermore, the council has only being using providers who seek to make a profit and has avoided not-for-profit providers.

This has meant while the number of youngsters in children’s homes has risen 29 per cent since 2020/21, the cost has almost doubled to more than £41 million.

Now the cabinet wants its 10-year partnership to be with a not-for-profit provider, and it will seek interest from such organisations.

It is hoped that by the last year of the partnership, the council will be spending £5 million less per year than the current arrangement with private, for-profit providers.

Cllr Richard Jefferies, (Liberal Democrat, Feniton & Honiton), cabinet member for children’s social services, said: “It’s not fair that so many children are living far away from their support networks, their friends and family.

They want to be looked after by people who are nurturing and friendly, and they want to be close to activities and their school and they want to be able to make friends.

“The way things are now this is difficult to achieve, and it can result in many having several homes, relationship breakdowns and disruptions.”

He added his party’s plan aimed to “improve outcomes for all children in care”.

Senior officers acknowledged that profits of some children’s homes providers meant costs are rising yet the needs of young people are not always being met.

“We’re spending a lot of money and not necessarily getting the right outcomes, so I’m confident this process will help with that,” said Julian Wooster, director of children’s and young people’s futures.

Council’s leader Julian Brazil (Liberal Democrat, Kingsbridge), said the plan aimed to “remove the amoral aspect of making profit out of vulnerable young children”.

He also thanked the former children’s services cabinet member Cllr Andrew Leadbetter (Conservative, Wearside and Topsham) for his work on the initiative beforethe Liberal Democrats became the largest party at County Hall in May.

Questions were asked about the length of the prospective agreement, given forthcoming local government reorganisation.

This process, which will see the abolition of the two-tier system of local government that exists in Devon, is likely to mean the county council will soon no longer exist.

And given it is likely to be replaced with an entity that has a smaller administrative boundary, some wondered whether not-for-profit providers could be wary of signing a collaboration.

Cllr Paul Arnott (Liberal Democrat, Seaton), vice chair of the council, asked what could happen to the agreement if the council was abolished.

Mr Wooster said not-for-profit providers need long-term contracts, and that some did consider the scale of a council as being important.

“There could be some hesitancy if Devon is broken up into very small authorities,” he said.

“But one authority can host a service, and it can be split across several others.

“This can create issues, though, as you have to have very good working relationships between councils, which can be a struggle at times, in terms of politics and resource.”