Cash-strapped council blasted as 'broken' after spending £85,000 on weekly social care bill for just ONE child

The total is 110 times the £40,000 bill to hold a violent prisoner in a Category A prison.

It was reduced to £30,000 a week, approximately £1.5million per year, following a review by officers at the authority.

WATCH NOW: Councillors have recently called for a council tax freeze

Cambridgeshire County Council is run by a coalition of Liberal Democrat, Labour and independent councillors.

Stephen Moir, the local authority’s chief executive, revealed the outlay during a strategy, resources and performance committee meeting.

He claimed similar situations were emulated “across all upper-tier local authorities in England”.

Moir added: “These placements continue to cost this council an exorbitant amount of money because the national market is broken.

“We have six young people, because of the high acuity needs they have, costing this council currently £200,000 a week because of the nature of their placement needs.

• Left-wing Cambridge University students say they 'feel unsafe' after Conservatives book out hall for dinner
• Labour's 'anti-car agenda' slammed as Ulez and congestion charge torn apart by Transport Secretary
• Left-wing Cambridgeshire council extends 'mad' four day week experiment for MONTHS despite 'disappointing results'

“This is replicated across all upper-tier local authorities in England.

“This system is one that, from a financial perspective and a delivery perspective, is, without doubt, in my view, in crisis nationally and something needs to be done.”

Moir also argued the Government was to blame for not implementing the independent MacAlister report into children’s social care.

The TaxPayers' Alliance blasted Cambridgeshire County Council for not delivering cost-effective services.

“While any child deserves the highest standard of care, councils must ensure they're delivering that care in a cost-effective way,” the pressure group said.

Steve Count, Cambridgeshire County Council’s Conservative leader, added: “How on earth did that come about?

“It concerns me about the level it started off with but also the level of saving with no depletion of service to that child.”

The child in question needs seven dedicated members of staff for their care.

A Department for Education spokesman said: “Profiteering in the children's homes market is wholly unacceptable, which is why we are working with Ofsted and the sector to develop a new financial oversight regime.

“More widely, we are investing £259million to support local authorities to create more placements for children in high-quality and safe homes and have backed our children's social care reform plans with £200million, to make sure there is earlier support for families, reducing the need for crisis response at a later stage.”