Council to buy third home for care leavers in £675k expansion plan

Twm Owen, Local Democracy Reporter

A third home for young people leaving care will be purchased after a council agreed to establish its own accommodation.

A grant of £675,450 will be sought to purchase and redevelop a property in Monmouth to provide a “homely setting” for three care experienced young people with 24 hour support.

Monmouthshire County Council opened its first home for 16 to 21-year-olds leaving care in Caldicot in 2025 and a second is due to open shortly in Abergavenny. The third home will bring the total number of places available to 13.

The council’s Labour and Green Party cabinet has agreed to purchase and refurbish the property, at an undisclosed location in Monmouth, which is expected to be fully funded by the Welsh Government grant.

Councillor Ian Chandler, who is responsible for social services, said the homes are intended to “assist the young people develop independent living skills and progress to accommodation with lower intensity support or independent accommodation. As corporate parents it is one of our most important responsibilities.”

The council agreed in April 2024 it would purchase or refurbish properties to use as small care homes, rather than continuing to rely on private providers for placements, which Cllr Chandler said has provided a cost saving and  better experiences for young people.

As well as homes for those leaving care the council has also bought and set up four homes for younger children in its care, providing a total of 12 places.

The Green Party councillor told the cabinet: “The most important reason is not financial. When we purchased commercial placements we had little control over where children ended up, they were often placed out of county and sometimes even out of Wales.”

Cllr Chandler said commercial providers previously had “us over a barrel as they were able to charge what they liked” and the Monmouth purchase is expected to save the council £142,000 a year.

He added that out of county placements not only remove children from their wider family, friends and surroundings but also add complications and costs for social workers in visiting them and providing support.

Another step forward

The cabinet member said in the “very unlikely” event the application for the Housing with Care Fund grant isn’t successful the property would be purchased from the additional borrowing powers, of up to £3 million, the council has previously approved. But Cllr Chandler said even if borrowing was required the council would still achieve savings of £76,000 a year.

Labour cabinet member Angela Sandles said young people who attend the corporate parenting panel often bring up the need for new properties and said: “It is another step forward in keeping everybody in the county in which they deserve to live.”

The cabinet also agreed the council will enter into a contract with a “suitable external provider” for housing-based support for the young people living at the property, as it has done in Caldicot.