Plans to spend £2.1 million on a four-bed children's home in Northumberland have been given the go-ahead. The property, located in Ulgham, will be converted into a residential home for four children with complex needs. Much of the funding comes from the Department for Education, with the council contributing £458,000.
Cost savings highlighted
Leading councillors say the cost will be mitigated by avoiding 'extraordinarily' high costs for private placements, which can reach up to £40,000 a week for the most complex children. The home, to be known as Fairwinds, will have capacity for four children, with plans to purchase two more nearby properties to bring total capacity to six.
Speaking at Tuesday's cabinet meeting, portfolio holder for children's services Coun Guy Renner-Thompson explained how the move would save local taxpayers money in the long run. He said: 'One of the biggest issues we face is the increase in the cost of children's residential homes. Some of these private placements cost up to £40,000 a week, which is an extraordinary sum of money.'
'We're proposing to spend £2.1 million on the purchase of a home in Ulgham. This will be used to house four children with complex needs. What that will then do will be a base home and we will have another two houses with two places for six overall.'
Financial benefits
Coun Renner-Thompson added: 'If we just look at the cost savings in that – the NCC contribution is £458,000 a year, so this will pay back to the council in ten months. Just this one project will save £569,000 a year. The overall project will pay for itself in three years, but some of that is Department for Education money. It's not only the morally correct thing to do, it is the financially correct thing to do.'
The meeting confirmed that the overall children's services budget had overspent by almost £5 million in the last financial year, with costly private placements being a significant driver. Coun Renner-Thompson said further projects like the Ulgham proposals would come forward as the council looks to make savings.
Council leader Glen Sanderson said it was 'absolutely the right way to move forward'. The proposals were unanimously agreed by the cabinet.
