Analysis shows scale of marketplace for unregulated accommodation despite scrutiny of such provision
Private companies competed to earn up to £120m providing unregulated housing for vulnerable teenagers in care last year despite concern that it leaves young people open to exploitation and abuse.
A Guardian analysis of a platform where local authorities advertise contracts for tender reveals the scale of the unregulated marketplace, where young people in the care system are placed in accommodation not regulated by Ofsted, the watchdog for education and children’s services.
