To: FOI Team / Children’s Services Team

Mandy Cashmore
Information and Records Officer
0330 403 4734
LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND SOCIAL CARE OMBUDSMAN
Local Government Association
foi@local.gov.uk

Subject: Clarification Request – Children’s Social Care Providers in 2023 LGA Report

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing in relation to the LGA-commissioned report Profit Making and Risk in Independent Children’s Social Care Placement Providers (Revolution Consulting, September 2023).

The report highlights the 20 largest independent providers of fostering and residential children’s placements, noting combined income of £1.6 billion in 2021/22, with four groups (Outcomes First, CareTech, Polaris, Aspris) accounting for around 60%.

However, when comparing the financial findings with operational data on the ground, I note that the largest providers by number of children’s homes do not fully align with those highlighted as dominant by income.

To illustrate, I have set out below a comparison table using my dataset (homes count) and the LGA’s reported income figure 29th October 2023 https://www.local.gov.uk/profit-making-and-risk-independent-childrens-social-care-placement-providers. I include 2025 figures which equates for about 20,000 placements in 2025:

Annex – Comparison of Providers (Quantity vs. Income)

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Warm regards,
Martin Newbold

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