LONDON

Some 10,000 children living in foster care in the UK were placed in unsafe and unregulated accommodation that included tents, barges, and caravans, according to a media report published on Friday.

A Sky News probe revealed that local councils housed vulnerable children in accommodations that were unregulated and not subject to checks by Ofsted, the government agency that inspects education and children’s services institutions.

Data retrieved under the Freedom of Information Act showed that around 9,990 children were housed in unregulated accommodation by 86 local authorities between January 2019 and December 2020, the report said.

At least 20 children were sent to live in caravans or tents, with 17 being placed in hostels and seven housed in barges.

“Vulnerable children under 16 are too young for the type of accommodation that provides a place to stay but not the care and support that they need,” Gavin Williamson, the UK’s education secretary, said in a statement quoted by Sky News.

In response to the revelations, the government has said it will ban the use of unregulated homes for children under the age of 16 starting September.

It will also introduce “national standards for unregulated settings that are accommodating 16 and 17-year-old children,” the report added.

“The action taken today, supported by the sector and in response to their views, is an important step in making sure children in care are placed in settings that give them the highest chances of success,” Williamson said.

An independent review into the children’s social care system has also been launched, headed by Josh MacAlister, a former teacher and founder of the charity Frontline.

“The basic test for me is whether we can create a system which better guarantees for every single child growing up in England safety, stability and love as the bedrock of being able to go on and have a successful future, and there are lots of things at the moment which are an obstacle to that,” he said in an interview with Sky News.