Financial cost of placements in non-Ofsted-registered / approved accommodation
Case reference FOI2026/01143
Received 12 May 2026
Published 4 June 2026
Request
Please provide the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000
1. How many children has the local authority placed in accommodation that is not Ofsted-registered / approved since 2023? By this, we mean strictly accommodation that operates as a children's home (for example, defined as Class C2 residential institutions in planning terms), not foster care or any placement with relatives who may have guardianship orders.
2. Please indicate how many of these placements were in-area or out-of-area.
3. What was the length of the longest single placement in such accommodation?
4. What has been the total cost of all such placements over the period?
5. How many children has the local authority placed in Ofsted-registered / approved accommodation in the same period?
6. How many Ofsted-registered / approved children's home places are available in-area in total?
7. How many children's homes are operated by the local authority?
8. Ofsted is clear that any accommodation that operates as a children's home without registration is illegal, and the people running it are committing a criminal offence.
Please provide information as to what risk assessment is undertaken when the authority decides to place a young person in such accommodation, and why a decision to do so would be made by the authority. Please note we are requesting a general position statement, not a response in relation to each individual placement.
Response
1. How many children has the local authority placed in accommodation that is not Ofsted-registered / approved since 2023? By this, we mean strictly accommodation that operates as a children's home (for example, defined as Class C2 residential institutions in planning terms), not foster care or any placement with relatives who may have guardianship orders.
A: 6
2. Please indicate how many of these placements were in-area or out-of-area.
A: All out of area
3. What was the length of the longest single placement in such accommodation?
A: 299 days
4. What has been the total cost of all such placements over the period?
A: £1,962,116.53
5. How many children has the local authority placed in Ofsted-registered / approved accommodation in the same period?
A: 44
6. How many Ofsted-registered / approved children's home places are available in-area in total?
A: 21
7. How many children's homes are operated by the local authority?
A: Herefordshire Council does not have any internal children’s home
8. Ofsted is clear that any accommodation that operates as a children's home without registration is illegal, and the people running it are committing a criminal offence. Please provide information as to what risk assessment is undertaken when the authority decides to place a young person in such accommodation, and why a decision to do so would be made by the authority. Please note we are requesting a general position statement, not a response in relation to each individual placement.
A: Herefordshire Council’s position is that children should not be placed in unregistered settings, as these fall outside statutory regulation; however, its guidance recognises that in exceptional circumstances, such placements may occur due to a lack of suitable registered provision. In these cases, the council requires strict safeguards, including senior-level authorisation, clear management oversight, and plans to regularise the placement as quickly as possible, ensuring the child’s safety and legal protections are prioritised. Overall, the approach is to treat unregistered placements as a last resort, time-limited, and tightly controlled measure, rather than standard practice.
Documents
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