The rising cost of caring for vulnerable children has been identified as the main reason behind Swindon Borough Council’s current financial pressures, with senior councillors pointing to a national failure in the children’s residential care market rather than local mismanagement.
More than 80% of the council’s revenue budget is now spent on statutory adult and children’s social care. Children’s services alone are forecasting an overspend of £8.1m in the current financial year.
Council data shows that 64 children are currently placed in high-cost residential care. This is well above the 44 placements originally budgeted for.
Each placement costs an average of £7,300 per week. This equates to around £380,000 per child per year.
Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance Kevin Small said the figures reflect the realities of modern residential care.
“We are not simply accommodating children. We are providing intensive, multidisciplinary care for those with profound vulnerabilities,” he said.
Residential placements account for a projected £7m overspend. This forms the majority of the £8.1m pressure within the overall children’s services budget of £61.3m.
Council Leader Jim Robbins said the increased spending must be seen in the context of safeguarding improvements.
“When we came into administration, Children’s Services was failing. It was judged as inadequate by Ofsted,” he said.
“Part of this overspend, part of having extra children come into our care this year, is because we’re actually getting that right now.”
He added:
“The money that we’re spending is the money that we should be spending in order to protect children in the borough. It’s the right thing for us to be doing.”
Swindon’s situation reflects a wider national trend. Councils across England are reporting sharply rising costs for children’s residential care.
Oversight bodies and media investigations have repeatedly described the market as dysfunctional. Councils are legally required to place children but often have little influence over prices due to limited availability.
Most children’s residential homes are privately run. Demand for specialist placements has grown faster than supply, leading to steep price increases, particularly for children with complex needs.
Cllr Small said Swindon is facing the same pressures as councils nationwide.
“The cost of children’s residential care is now the biggest factor behind our current financial outlook,” he said.
Cllr Jim Robbins was critical of the current market structure.
“We are seeing private providers making what I would describe as quite immoral profits,” he said.
“It’s incredibly difficult to look at how we spend public money wisely when you see the scale of profiteering that appears to be going on in this space.”
While there are registered children’s home providers in and around Swindon, the number of local placements is limited. This is especially the case for children with more complex needs.
As a result, children are often placed out of area. This increases costs and can reduce stability for young people.
The council’s proposed 2026/27 budget includes £3.5m of new investment to increase social worker capacity. The aim is to reduce caseloads, improve oversight and intervene earlier to prevent cases escalating into residential care.
Cllr Small said workforce pressures have historically driven costs higher.
“Some social workers have had too many kids on their books. This investment is about making it safer for young people and giving social workers the capacity to do the job properly.”
The council is also exploring ways to expand local provision. This includes council-supported residential placements to reduce reliance on external providers over time.
For 2026/27, Swindon Borough Council is forecasting total service spending of £233m. It is also facing £33m in additional costs, with around £21.5m linked directly to adult and children’s social care demand.
Despite receiving an additional £13.7m in government funding over the next three years, the council says this does not keep pace with rising demand.
After accounting for £12.2m in planned savings, which do not affect frontline services, a £22.3m budget gap remains for the coming financial year.
Council leaders say that without national reform of the children’s residential care market, financial pressures will continue.
“Unless we deal with the underlying demand and the way care is provided nationally, this problem will keep repeating itself,” Cllr Robbins said.
The budget proposals will be considered by Cabinet on Tuesday 4th February, before being debated by Full Council later in the month.
