Council desperately seeks homes for teens in Luton - with agencies charging 'two or three times' amount of normal foster carers

The council is making its own plans to provide accommodation for homeless children aged over 16, having failed to secure a combined approach with neighbouring local authorities.

The borough council usually strives to “jointly commission” children's housing arrangements with Central Beds, Bedford Borough and Herts councils, a children’s services review meeting heard this week.

For children aged under 16, the council is still working with its neighbours to find homes among independent fostering agencies, which they purchase at a considerable cost.

“Children’s placements are a very pressured and a very competitive market, and is much more expensive,” explained Gerard Jones, Luton Borough Council’s interim service director for quality, improvement and practice innovation.

"It’s two or three times more than placements we provide from our own foster carers.

“We are going out to the market to negotiate with our neighbours in a joint arrangement to procure agency foster carer placements for our children in care.”

He told the review group it is important that the council gets value for money and provides good quality placements.

“Hertfordshire is a very big council,” he added. “It makes its own decisions. Wherever possible we’ve tried to work with our neighbours.