The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care pulls no punches about the issues facing the market for children’s care placements: a shortage of homes in the right places, weak market oversight, exorbitant costs, and eye-watering profits for private providers.

The Review is clear that change is urgently required. However, it says this cannot be achieved within an already overwhelmed system and recommends ‘the commissioning and running of children’s homes, recruitment and training of foster carers, must be moved into new Regional Care Cooperatives.’