Six London boroughs have been awarded £1m for a scheme improving access to high-quality residential care and fostering placements for looked after children.

The bid was submitted by the South London Commissioning Programme which has combined the buying power of 10 boroughs and developed shared systems to improve the supply of affordable, high-quality accommodation for looked after children.

The Programme, which includes Greenwich, Croydon, Merton, Sutton, Bexley and Lewisham, says the new funding will help them to build expertise and develop systems that will improve the ways services and placements are commissioned.

‘I’m so pleased that the department for education have seen the benefits of our proposals and now we can develop a blueprint that will enable local authorities across the country to follow in our footsteps,’ said Cllr Miranda Williams, the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s cabinet member for children and young people.