Children in care in Portsmouth 'being failed by the state' as they are 'bounced' between homes

A report from the Office of the Children's Commissioner showed 77 children in care were moved between homes in the city at least twice in 2018/19.

This number was up from 60 from the year before, and meant 16 per cent of the children in care were moved twice or more in 2018/19 - above the average across England of 10 per cent.

The Children’s Commissioner, Anne Longfield, said local authorities where vulnerable children are frequently moved were failing with apparent poor planning and lack of care.

Ms Longfield said: 'I am worried the whole system is becoming immune to the devastating effect this is having on children who may have previously been abused and neglected, or have serious mental or physical health needs.

'These children are being failed by the state.'

The report also revealed 58 children in care in Portsmouth - or 18 per cent -lived in at least four different homes over 2017/18 and 2018/19.

This was more than the national average of 12 per cent – where 6,400 children were moved on three or more occasions.

Alison Jeffery, director of children's services at Portsmouth City Council, said the authority would 'continue to work hard on this.'

'The Children's Commissioner is right to draw attention to the need for children to have stability in where they live,' she said.

'Every child's circumstances are different. Our data in Portsmouth is affected by a number of factors, but we work hard to try to plan as well as possible to meet children's needs in a stable way.'

It comes as the city council has refused to look after any more unaccompanied asylum-seeking children arriving in Portsmouth after a spike in arrivals led to a shortage in foster home places.

The authority had around 90 asylum seeker children on the books at any given time - when its allocation was 31.

The Department for Education is currently launching an independently-led care review into the children’s social care system.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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