Dumfries & Galloway care provision cost could top £5m

The cost of specialist accommodation for children in social care in Dumfries and Galloway could exceed £5m over 12 months – based on the latest figures.

The local authority is currently paying for residential care for 38 young people – some from troubled backgrounds and others with complex special needs.

The cost per placement can range from £2,000 to £6,000-a-week.

The council is to host a special seminar on the issue next month to debate the situation.

However, social work committee chairman Dennis Male admitted they had relatively little control over the costs.

He said part of the problem was that the council could never “accurately predict” how many children might come into the system.

“It means that the whole issue is one that we can never actually balance the books for properly because we don’t know from week to week how much it is going to cost us,” he said.

Mr Male said that despite that fact it was important to have the seminar with all agencies involved to try to get some “extra clarity” on the situation.