Request 101004066042

Under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002, please provide the following information for the financial year 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. If figures for that year aren't finalised, please use the most recent complete financial year and tell me which year you have used.

"External residential placement" in this request means any placement of a looked-after child or young person in a residential children's house, residential school, or residential care and education service run by a private (for-profit) or voluntary (not-for-profit) provider. It excludes secure care, short breaks and foster care.

1. Number of placements
a) The total number of children and young people in external residential placements during the year, split by private and voluntary providers.
b) The number of these placements made through the Scotland Excel Children's Residential Care and Education framework, and the number made off-framework (including spot purchases).

2. Weekly prices for each placement (anonymised)
For each external residential placement, please give:
a) an anonymised provider code (e.g. Provider A, Provider B), used consistently so placements with the same provider can be grouped;
b) whether the provider is private or voluntary;
c) the weekly price paid, excluding VAT, including any additional charges agreed on top of the base rate (for example extra staffing or education). If the price changed during the year, please give each weekly price that applied;
d) the staffing level, if recorded (for example standard, 1:1 or 2:1);
e) whether it was made through the Scotland Excel framework or off-framework.

I do not want the names of any children or any information that could identify them. If you consider that small numbers could lead to identification, please give the figures in bands (for example £4,000–£4,999 per week) rather than withholding them.

3. Summary figures
For external residential placements, and separately for private and voluntary providers, please give the lowest, highest, mean and median weekly price paid.

4. Total spend per provider
The total amount paid to each external residential care provider during the year, with the provider named. This is aggregate spending of public money, not the price of any individual placement.

5. In-house comparison
If the council runs its own children's houses, the average weekly cost of a place in them for the same year.