A judge is rightly astonished that a 16-year-old boy was sent to live in a series of unregulated placements across the country by his “corporate parent” (Coventry council used Airbnbs to house ‘vulnerable’ teenage boy accused of rape, 2 November). But this is the tip of the iceberg.
After winning a tribunal appeal, my charity recently obtained a report which shows that 20 children died in care, and 69 suffered serious harm, in England in the two years to June 2020. Nearly half were aged 16-18. Children had been raped, stabbed and assaulted. More than a third who died had taken their own lives. Four were accused of rape.
In 2021, the government banned the use of unregulated accommodation for children in care aged 15 and under. Older children were denied this protection. A new class of accommodation is now regulated for 16- and 17-year-olds that is devoid of day-to-day care and consistent adult supervision.
The government has refused to rule out caravans, barges and boats. Child neglect is baked into the care system for teenagers, so it is little wonder that local authority decision-makers are allowing environments that would not be tolerated for their own children.
Carolyne Willow
Director, Article 39