Children’s Residential Care
High-cost residential placements for looked-after children. 190 UK councils have discussed children’s residential care in monitored meetings — track who, where and how the conversation is moving.
What councils are saying about children’s residential care
Children’s Residential Care is one of the procurement themes QuorumInsight tracks across UK local government, detected in 661 meeting mentions spanning 190 councils. Every mention comes from an analysed council meeting — a cabinet decision, a committee discussion or a budget report — so this is a picture of what councils are actually planning and debating, not a directory of published tenders.
Discussion has been rising quarter-on-quarter: there were 193 mentions in the last three months, against 111 in the three months before. For suppliers, that matters because activity in a council meeting typically precedes any formal procurement by months. Reading it early is the difference between shaping a requirement and responding to one. Children’s Residential Care sits within the broader children’s social care category.
Mentions over the last 12 months
Monthly children’s residential care mentions across all monitored UK councils, by meeting date. The current month is excluded while it is still in progress.
Most active councils
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council in West Midlands is the most active authority on children’s residential care, with 28 mentions across 28 monitored meetings — around 4% of all children’s residential care discussion QuorumInsight has tracked. The council returned to the subject as recently as its “Planning Decisions & School Build” meeting on 16 Sept 2026.
Flintshire County Council (17 mentions) and Slough Borough Council (13) are also notably active. The full list of leading councils is below — each links to its live intelligence profile.
| Council | Region | Mentions |
|---|---|---|
| Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council | West Midlands | 28 |
| Flintshire County Council | Wales | 17 |
| Slough Borough Council | South East | 13 |
| Medway Council | South East | 11 |
| Camden London Borough Council | London | 11 |
| Dorset Council | South West | 11 |
| Leeds City Council | Yorkshire and the Humber | 11 |
| Wakefield Metropolitan District Council | Yorkshire and the Humber | 10 |
| Vale of Glamorgan Council | Wales | 10 |
| Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council | Wales | 10 |
| Somerset Council | South West | 10 |
| Wrexham County Borough Council | Wales | 9 |
In councils’ own words
Recent meetings where children’s residential care came up, with the relevant passage from the discussion. Each meeting links to the council’s intelligence profile.
Central Bedfordshire Council · School Places & Youth Services · 2 Oct 2026
“reduce reliance on independent fostering agencies and residential placements”
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council · Funding and Service Pressures · 1 Oct 2026
““We have some 80 odd placements outside of the borough with children with extremely complex needs””
North Ayrshire Council · Health and Care Pressures · 1 Oct 2026
“Placements costs can range from approximately £5,000 to £8,000 per week”
Kent County Council · Care and Budget Pressures · 1 Oct 2026
“I visited KCC's second new children's home in Ashford”
Medway Council · SEND & Care Reform Plans · 1 Oct 2026
“we're building on our Eden House which has five beds in there”
Birmingham City Council · CSE Safeguarding Review · 30 Sept 2026
“external providers of children's homes”
Related topics in children’s social care
- Children’s Mental Health Commissioning · 190 councils
- Fostering Services · 147 councils
- Leaving Care & Semi-Independent · 104 councils
- Therapeutic Services for Children · 76 councils
Track children’s residential care across every council
Set an alert on children’s residential care and get notified whenever a monitored council discusses it — with the meeting, the context and the quote.