Foster children from Northumberland sent as far away as London and Bristol for care

Figures obtained via a Freedom of Information request showed that 880 looked after children were cared for outside the county between 2011/12 and 2021/22.

Three children were sent to Brighton, two to Westminster and one to Watford. Other areas taking in children from the county included West Sussex (2) and Aberdeenshire (2).

Despite the figures, Northumberland County Council has pointed out that the number of children placed in-house is significantly higher than the national average.

Graham Reiter, the council’s service director of children’s social care, said: “It is a key principle for Northumberland that we will strive to place children as close to home as possible, where it is safe and appropriate to do so, to support stability and continuity for them.

“Placement provision and supply has changed significantly over the last ten years and in Northumberland we have and continue to develop the range and quality of our in-house fostering and residential care to support local placements for our children and young people wherever possible. Seventy per cent of our placements are in-house compared to the national average which is 49%.

“Seventy-five per cent of our children and young people are placed within 20 miles of their home address which is better than the national average.

"Currently 23% of our children and young people who are looked after are placed outside the county, which is significantly better than the national average of 39%.

“There are a range of reasons why children are placed out of county and for example, 67% of those children who are placed outside Northumberland are placed with family and friends, including a small number who are placed for adoption.

“Where we do place children and young people with external providers, we work collaboratively with them and rigorously monitor the quality of the provision.

“We are fortunate to have strong and resilient foster carers in Northumberland and we provide a range of support and ongoing training and development to help them to care for our children and young people.”

It was revealed last month that the county is facing a shortage of foster carers for children of all ages.