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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Patrick Butler Social policy editor

English council may ask parents of children taken into care to pay half of costs

The shadow of a child playing on a swing.
Children can enter local authority care on a short-term basis when a parent is temporarily unable to provide safe care. Photograph: Jack Sullivan/Alamy

A cash-strapped English council is considering charging parents of children taken into local authority care half of the weekly cost of looking after them.

Derbyshire county council said “unprecedented financial challenges” meant it had little option but to “maximise alternative sources of income” to try to reduce the strain on its children’s services. The weekly charge would range from £90 to £113 depending on the child’s age.

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