Growing numbers of children as young as 16 are being housed alone in bed and breakfast rooms, bedsits and even caravans by councils struggling to cope with growing demands on the care system.

A joint investigation by the Observer newspaper and the BBC’s 5 Live radio programme found there has been a 28 per cent increase in the number of under-18s placed by councils in so-called independent living accommodation, which lacks live-in staff support and includes unsupervised B&Bs, over the past eight years.

Figures obtained from the Department for Education through Freedom of Information Act requests showed that the number of looked-after children placed in independent living arrangements by English local authorities rose from 2,420 in 2010 to 3,090 in 2018. In Wales, the figure went from 75 to 130 in the same period, a rise of 73 per cent.

Responses to FOI requests revealed that four local authorities had placed up to 14 children in caravan parks and 17 councils placed up to 133 children in B&Bs over the past two years.

Unsuitable accommodation

While some independent living arrangements with dedicated social-work support are appropriate for those aged under 18, other types, such as B&Bs, are prohibited by statutory guidance because they are considered “too risky”.

Although social services are meant to assess and, in most cases, care for homeless teenagers, some authorities are placing under-18s in B&Bs and adult hostels without any checks or support.

In October, the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman found that Cornwall council failed to provide appropriate accommodation to a 17-year-old boy, who was placed in a tent, a static caravan and B&Bs during 2016.

Plymouth City Council said it was hard to find suitable placements for older teenagers. A spokesman for the council said: “Sadly, there is a national shortage of foster placements willing to take 16 to 18 year-old young people, which severly limits the options available to local authorities.”

The Children’s Commissioner for England, Anne Longfield, has said she will be investigating the housing of vulnerable children this year. “None of us would choose for our own children to live alone in caravan parks, B&Bs or adult hostels, yet I often hear from young people in care who have been dumped into substandard housing under the guise of ‘independent living’.”

By Patrick Mooney, editor