More than one million pounds spent on housing vulnerable children in care

The Western Health and Social Care Trust (WHSCT) is housing some of the ‘looked-after children’ in its care in Airbnb, hotel, and bed and breakfast accommodation. This is due to the lack of in-house Trust accommodation facilities.

10,102 nights have been used in this alternative accommodation between January 2020 and June 2025, at a cost of more than £1 million.

When it is not available, children are being accommodated in other countries - as far away as England and Wales.

According to the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, a ‘looked after child’ is a child in the care of the local Health and Social Care Trust, who is either provided with accommodation by the Trust or is otherwise in the Trust’s care.

The reasons for a child becoming looked after can include abuse, neglect, or a parent’s inability to care for them due to illness or other issues. The Children Order also requires the Trust to safeguard and promote the child’s welfare.

The policy of housing ‘looked-after children’ in Airbnb, hotel, and bed and breakfast accommodation and its cost was contained in the answer to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request submitted to the Trust by Aontú representative, Emmet Doyle.

Speaking to The Derry News, Mr Doyle said the FOI raised “considerable concern about child safeguarding and the use of public money”.

“Permanent and suitable accommodation for these vulnerable young people could and should have been invested in by the Trust,” he said.

Mr Doyle described the situation regarding accommodation for ‘looked-after children’ as “absolutely outrageous”.

“I am shocked at the amount of money spent and the number of young people staying in Airbnb, hotel, and bed and breakfast accommodation.

“It raises serious questions about how this setup is meeting the needs of these young people under the Children’s Order and how these placements are actually working,” he said.

“Are children sleeping alone in hotel rooms or staying in the same room as social workers, who are surely being paid overtime to do so?

“Worse still, when it is not available locally, children are being accommodated in other countries - as far away as England and Wales. Yes, we are putting children on planes or boats and hiring rooms in other countries to accommodate them with staff because there is seemingly no suitable accommodation here.

“Many of these children are vulnerable and have been removed from their parents for a range of reasons, and yet the Trust cannot provide a stable and safe environment for them.

“Questions must be asked as to how any safeguarding assessment thought this would be an appropriate setting for those children, even in short-term circumstances, yet it is clear from the number of nights used in accommodation this was the norm, rather than the exception.

Mr Doyle queried whether senior Trust officers thought Airbnb, hotel, and bed and breakfast accommodation was “really the best way to meet the needs of young people and spend public money”.

A spokesperson for the Western Health and Social Care Trust told The Derry News: “The Trust has robust safeguarding plans in place for each looked after child/young person, to meet their individual needs.

“This can include 24 hour supervision. For the children who are supported in these accommodations, their safety and wellbeing remains our absolute priority and we have strong systems of oversight in place.”

“This is an issue, not just locally but is being experienced across the UK.

“The Trust continues to engage with the Commissioner on the complexities of this issue and we remain committed to doing everything possible to ensure that all children in our care receive the right support, in the safest and most appropriate setting.”

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A Department of Health spokesperson said: Under the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995, all Health & Social Care (HSC) Trusts have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their care, and to provide accommodation for them.

“The growth in the population of looked after children over the past 10 years and the complexity of need within that population is putting pressure on placements across all HSC Trust areas.

“There are robust governance and oversight arrangements in place to ensure that young people aged 16 or 17 are only placed in hotels, bed and breakfasts or Airbnbs when no other accommodation is available and for as short a time as possible.

“Children aged under 16 are only accommodated in regulated settings such as residential homes or foster care.

“Within the Children’s Social Care Services Strategic Reform Programme, a specific workstream is focused on ensuring that there is sufficient accommodation available to meet the needs of all children in care.

“Other departments and their respective agencies are also engaged in that work, given the interface with other services.”