Town hall bosses welcomed government plans to overhaul children's residential care and make providers more transparent.

The chairman of the Local Government Association's children and young people board, Cllr David Simmonds, said proposals to ensure operators work with local authorities when deciding where to open new homes 'will be an important step' in giving councils confidence in children's homes'. Residential homes play an important role in caring for some of the most vulnerable children in society at difficult times in their lives,' he said.