Portsmouth City Council invests £250,000 in regional childcare initiative

The RCC, a collaborative effort involving 18 local authorities, including Portsmouth, seeks to tackle critical issues in children’s social care, such as rising care costs and a lack of suitable placements.

Portsmouth City Council spent £3.2 million on high-cost external care for 18 children in 2023/24, with this figure projected to rise to £4.5 million by the end of 2024/25. In contrast, the annual cost of participating in the RCC is just £100,000—equivalent to only 10 weeks of a single external placement at £10,000 per week.

Once operational, the RCC is expected to deliver over 40 new care beds in the region, funded through a grant. It will also strengthen partnerships with care providers, charities, health boards, and youth justice services.

In the first two years, the initiative aims to reduce the reliance on unregistered care placements, improve workforce training, and enhance local planning to ensure children are placed closer to home. These efforts are expected to lower costs while improving outcomes for young people. Foster parent recruitment and support are also expected to benefit from the cooperative approach.

From year three onwards, the RCC plans to further decrease care costs and unregistered placements, foster stronger relationships with care providers, and attract sustainable new entrants to the market.

The ultimate goal is to ensure sufficient high-quality care places are available, enabling children to remain within the region unless there is a compelling reason to place them elsewhere.

Councillor Steve Pitt, leader of Portsmouth City Council, expressed support, stating: "It's a no brainer really, one child in a stable placement and we’ve got our money back and some and also better outcomes for young people because they’ll definitely be in the South East.

“I can see no reason at all why we wouldn't want to work strategically with our partners.”