• 03.07.2026

Exclusive: Liverpool Council has placed children in illegal care homes

Unregulated providers are being paid thousands to house vulnerable children

Dear readers — earlier this year, a report by UK research firm Public First revealed the shocking scale of unregistered children's homes in England. The number of confirmed cases had risen by more than 370% since 2020 – from 144 homes to roughly 680 in 2025. That means hundreds of homes are now providing accommodation to children without proper Ofsted registration, and without inspection of the facilities or the staff running them.

Since then, Abi has been looking into the state of children's homes in Liverpool. In doing so, she has uncovered a worrying trend: homes being granted planning permission to house children, run by companies with no Ofsted registration and little cash in the bank. Some of these companies go on to illegally house children – earning upwards of £17,000 per fortnight for doing so.

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