Children still living in unregistered homes

More than a dozen young people in Liverpool are living in unregistered children's homes.

In England, all children's homes must register with Ofsted. Operating an unregistered home is illegal.

In July, it was revealed £120m was spent by local authorities across Merseyside in the last year on private children's homes - with some of that money being paid to house children in unregistered, illegal settings.

The new figures were released ahead of a Liverpool City Council scrutiny committee meeting to show how the authority is working to tackle unregistered children's homes.

According to the latest data, there are 14 children currently living in unregistered homes in Liverpool, across 12 different providers, predominantly located in the north of the city.

Analysis of Ofsted figures shows the number of unregistered homes in England increased from 144 in 2020-21 to 680 in 2024-25, although this is thought to be an underestimate.

Liverpool City Council data indicates that up to July this year, there have been nine out-of-area placements of children in unregistered homes, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Unregistered children's homes operate outside independent regulatory oversight, meaning children placed there have no assurance of safe or suitable care.

Unregistered homes are predominantly located in the north of the city, including areas such as Croxteth, Norris Green and Fazakerley. They can also be found in Old Swan, Kensington and the Wavertree areas.

Councillor Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool City Council, has made representations to the government to highlight the issue.

According to the local authority, working relationships across children's services, council planning services and Merseyside Police have strengthened in response to tackling the emergence of unregistered children's homes.

Once agencies become aware of a looked-after child being placed in an unregistered home in the city, Ofsted is informed.

Ofsted announced in July that councils that place children in unregistered homes could see their children's services performance ratings downgraded. The inspectorate carried out its first successful prosecution against this type of provider in August this year.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.