Highland Council reduces bill for child care placements
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
COSTS of more than £6 million have been avoided thanks to a reduction in the numbers of looked-after children in placements outside the Highlands.
The figure was highlighted in a report to Highland councillors which revealed 42 young people had been able to return to the Highlands or avoided being placed outside the area since June last year.
There are plans for a further four children to return before December.
The report, presented to the council's care, learning and housing committee, stated there were 35 children in residential placements last month – the lowest in six years – while the number of children remaining in out-of-area residential placements was 27 compared with 41 in September last year.
The outreach and respite service Arach, in Fodderty, which opened in May is expected to further reduce new admissions into placements.
Inverness South councillor Andrew Jarvie sought reassurances about children returning to the Highlands.
"I don't want to see this council breaking a good placement just to save money," he said.
He said he would also be anxious by moves to return children at specialist educational facilities if there was no equivalent in the Highlands.
Chairman John Finlayson said: "I think everyone in the chamber would be concerned if a policy we applied was not putting the child at the centre and we were bringing young people back purely for financial reasons."
Karen Ralston, the council's interim head of children's services, said that would not be the case as decisions were made in the best interests of children.
"We look at children who are in a placement outside the Highlands and would not disrupt that unless the child said they wanted to come back to the Highlands," she said.
The committee also heard that progress was being made towards achieving £12 million of savings in the care and learning revenue budget.
The projected overspend for the year end was now £124,000 compared with a predicted overspend of £572,000 in the first quarter.
