Request
Can the Department provide information on the number of looked after children that are placed "out of the county" or beyond the "20 mile rule" by all local authorities?
Release
While Government collects data on the distance from home that children are placed; there is not in fact any "20 mile rule" placing a requirement of authorities to limit the distance between home and placement. Indeed there will be some children, perhaps with complex low incidence needs, where in order to commission the most appropriate service the authority will find it necessary to look beyond its own area.
Statistics about children looked after by local authorities can be viewed on the Department website through the Research and Statistics Gateway.
Tables LAA 16 and LAA17 in the second set of additional tables on this page provide information broken down by local authority about the numbers of looked after children by distance between home and placement inside and outside their local authorities.
Central government does not collect data about how individual local authorities allocate their budgets for looked after children’s placements.
