Private equity firms now own or partly own 11 of England's 20 largest fostering and children's home providers, according to research from thinktank Common Wealth.
The organisation found that the four largest independent fostering agencies have paid out or reserved at least £205m in interest to shareholders and investors since 2020, raising fresh concerns over profit-making in the care of vulnerable children.
The Government has pledged stronger oversight of the market and said it could introduce a cap on profits as a last resort if concerns are not addressed.
Common Wealth argues that these existing reforms are ‘inadequate’ and a better long-term solution is to ban for-profit actors from the sector.
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