Council’s Expenditure on Residential Care Placements for Children in Private Care Homes
Case reference FOI2026/01040
Received 28 April 2026
Published 21 May 2026
Request
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am requesting information regarding the council’s expenditure on residential care placements for children in private care homes. Please provide the following information:
1. The number of children for whom the council funded private residential care home placements in each of the last ten completed financial years;
2. The council's total expenditure on placing children in private residential care homes for each of the last ten completed financial years.
Response
Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, I am requesting information regarding the council’s expenditure on residential care placements for children in private care homes. Please provide the following information:
1. The number of children for whom the council funded private residential care home placements in each of the last ten completed financial years;
Answer: Please see the table below:
|
Year |
Children Within Year |
|
2016-17 |
28 |
|
2017-18 |
28 |
|
2018-19 |
28 |
|
2019-20 |
43 |
|
2020-21 |
55 |
|
2021-22 |
58 |
|
2022-23 |
59 |
|
2023-24 |
56 |
|
2024-25 |
50 |
|
2025-26 |
44 |
2. The council's total expenditure on placing children in private residential care homes for each of the last ten completed financial years.
Answer: Please see the table below. Please be advised, we do not hold data older than 7 years, in line with retention schedules:
|
Year |
Total Expenditure |
|
2019-20 |
£8,787,619 |
|
2020-21 |
£12,255,946 |
|
2021-22 |
£12,736,282 |
|
2022-23 |
£16,304,537 |
|
2023-24 |
£15,861,828 |
|
2024-25 |
£13,619,024 |
|
2025-26 |
£12,595,645 |
Documents
This is Herefordshire Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.
You can browse our other responses or make a new FOI request.