Thousands of young people have been placed in council care more than 20 miles away from home in the past year as local authorities struggle under the pressure of ballooning costs, new analysis shared with The Independent shows.
A third of children in council care in 2023 lived over 20 miles away from their local area, school and family - around 4,600 people in total. This is an 18 per cent increase since 2019.
