George Monbiot on the role of profit in (children's) social care:
'two Northamptonshire councils revealed they are paying an average of £281,000 a year for each residential placement, or £5,400 a week. A direct comparison cannot be made, because many children in care have complex needs, but just by way of reference Eton’s eye-watering fees are £46,000 a year'!
So, much of tax payers money is supporting investors not those needing care!
@ChrisMayLA6 I have a friend that works in a school for kids with needs that can’t be met by mainstream schooling, and each child that lives outside the town where the school is situated gets a budget for taxi transport of £40k annually. That’s significantly more than the annual income of a lot of their families, and it makes me wonder if a). That’s really the most cost-effective way to get them to school, and b). If that money couldn’t be better spent improving their home life, which is obviously and evidentially the root cause of many of their problems.
@mandelbroccoli@ChrisMayLA6 I work for a local authority in social care. We employ drivers and have a fleet of minibuses to collect children on routes around the county.
Much cheaper to spend £30k driver/assistant wages and ~£15k annual vehicle costs than £40k per pupil taxi fees for the AVG. 8 pupils per run. Plus the staff are trained in safety and have paid leave and a decent wage.
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