16 Monday December 6 2021 | the times
News
Refugee children are being put in hotels
on their own because the care system is
stretched to breaking point, the head of
Ofsted will say tomorrow.
Amanda Spielman will say at the pub-
lication of the regulator’s annual report
that the number of vulnerable children
is at a record high, leaving them at risk.
Ofsted’s report will also cover the
impact of the pandemic on schools and
colleges but it is particularly concerned
with the plight of unaccompanied mig-
rant and refugee children.
Their arrival has thrown chronic
capacity issues in England’s care
system into sharp relief, the chief
inspector will say.
Unaccompanied children are rout-
inely being housed in hotels, a practice
the inspectorate has described as un-
acceptable, because of delays in trans-
ferring them to local authority care and
a lack of suitable places for them to live.
The watchdog says that without
independent oversight it is impossible
to know whether these hotels are safe.
The government has temporarily
made mandatory the national transfer
scheme, which means that local auth-
orities must accept children into their
care from other areas. Although this is
a positive step the inspectorate is call-
ing for the wider strains on England’s
“creaking” care system to be addressed.
Demand for children’s home and foster
care places outstrips supply and the
IAN WEST/PAMigrant children
left alone in hotels
pandemic has made the shortage
worse.
Spielman said: “Children should be
treated as children, not least those
arriving on our shores without friends
or family, wanting safety, security and a
better future. It is extremely challeng-
ing to find them a place to live but using
hotels is neither acceptable nor sustain-
able. No one would want that for their
own children.
“But this speaks to a wider care crisis.
There is simply nowhere for the most
vulnerable children to go and the
system is stretched to breaking point.
Boosting capacity has to be a priority.”
Ofsted’s report will highlight con-
tinued pressures on the care system,
including a shortage of children’s
homes in many parts of the country.
About a quarter of all homes are in the
northwest and only 5 per cent in
London. This uneven spread means
that children must often move far away
from family and friends to get the care
they need.
There are also very few homes willing
and able to care for a small number of
children with the most complex prob-
lems.
The report is expected to say: “Local
authorities are undoubtedly in a diffi-
cult position when it comes to finding
somewhere for children to live but
some are not doing all they can to make
sure that the places they choose meet
children’s individual needs and are safe
and secure.”Nicola Woolcock Education Editor
Millions falling prey to green home scams
More than a third of householders have
been targeted by a “green” scam in the
past year, a survey has suggested, and
an estimated 5.2 million people have
lost money as a result.
Citizens Advice also found that more
than two thirds of adults were thinking
about making their homes more
energy efficient in the next 12 months.
Wendy Martin, a National Trading
Standards director, said: “Criminals areexploiting people’s genuine efforts to
make their homes more environmen-
tally friendly... As all of us try to play
our part to help tackle climate change,
it’s important we do so safely without
being conned by criminals.”
Dame Clare Moriarty, Citizens
Advice chief executive, said: “With
more than two thirds of us thinking
about making our homes more energy
efficient it’s important that we knowhow to stay safe when going green. To
fight back and help protect ourselves
and others, we can report scams.”
John Herriman, chief executive of
Chartered Trading Standards Institute,
said it was important that consumers
felt confident buying green products
and services. “It is their confidence that
propels the economic recovery forward
and helps the country achieve its net-
zero targets,” he said.No show Moulin Rouge! at the Piccadilly Theatre was cancelled at the weekend due to a Covid outbreak among performers