Dorset Council continues to have a high number of children and young people in its care, compared to other, similar, authorities – including 34 unaccompanied asylum seeking youngsters.

The current number is 437, down from 444 the previous month.

Dorset Council officials say that if unaccompanied children are excluded from the figures the council’s number of children in care is 403, the lowest since April 2018.

More than 40 per cent of these, excluding refugee children, are over 20 miles from home, compared to 45% a year ago.

Eight per cent of the total had three of more different places to live in the previous 12 months.

The statistics presented to the committed showed that six young people in care, aged between 16 and 25, are in bed and breakfast accommodation, although it was later reported that since the report was written this had dropped to three.

Dorset Council’s Corporate Parenting Board chair Cllr Kate Wheller, told the committee that there was often a fuss when the B&B figures were reported – but she said that most of the young people involved, said they liked where they were living, often comparing it favourably to previous types of accommodation they had been in, including foster care.

“I have had two interesting conversations with young people who have said although it’s not ideal being in bed and breakfast it is so much better than what we had before, please don’t beat yourself up about it because while we’d like to have our own little studio flat, bedsit or whatever, actually where we are is so much better than what we came from.”

More than 70 per cent of the children and young people which Dorset Council has a legal responsibility for are staying with foster carers with 13 per cent in children’s homes and 6% in ‘independent living’ accommodation.

Councillors were told that the overall trend for adoption is worsening with it taking longer between the time a child enters care to moving in with an adoptive family lengthening from 486 days in January to 517 days in March.

The committee was told that there are a number of reasons for this, including the time it take for care proceedings before the courts to be concluded, often in excess of the set 26-week target.

A report from Aspire, which manages the adoption service for the council, said that there has also been an increase in the number of harder to place children including those over 5 and those with complex needs, sibling groups and minority ethnic children.

Despite this adoption orders made improved from 14 to 26 over the course of the year.

Similar shortages are affecting fostering with the total number of fostering households having reduced from 192 in March 2022 to 169 in March 2023.

Recruiting campaigns have been organised for both potential adopter families and foster carers with an increase in allowances implemented in April and a new mutual support package for foster carers, known as ‘Mockingbird’, introduced during the year.