The seventh edition of LaingBuisson’s Children’s Services UK Market Report is essential reading for anyone involved in this important area of the UK’s social care system now valued at £26.84 billion. Written and researched by leading sector expert Tim Read, this definitive report offers comprehensive and independent insight into all areas of the children’s services market, with detailed coverage of special education and social care services for children and young people. This report also offers insights into changing market behaviour by providers, including shifts away from multi-sector provision into single segment specialisation and exploration of new areas for revenue growth.

Since the last edition was published in 2022, the report reveals a market that has grown significantly, which we previously reported was at £17.1 billion.Value growth has been underpinned through increasing volumes of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and challenged in reducing the number of children placed in residential care homes. While pressures on public sector budgets remain, demand-led statutory obligations have sustained service volumes and, in turn, market revenues.

In the special education market segment, now valued at £8.67 billion, the volume of children being placed in independent special schools continues to rise dramatically, with the number rising consistently by above 10% for the previous five years.

Our Children in Care chapters, mainly covering Children’s Residential Care and Foster Care, reveal a sub-sector now valued at £18.18 billion. Our report indentifies a clear division in market growth between these sectors and details long-term supply trends across public and independent providers to meet rising demand.

The report also explores the current political and regulatory landscape, including Labour’s proposed reforms to children’s social care currently progressing through Parliament. This changing policy environment could have implications for service commissioning, provider behaviour and future investment strategies.

• Children’s residential care providers
• Foster care and adoption agencies
• Special education providers (schools and colleges)
• Leaving care and supported living providers
• Local authorities and children’s services commissioners
• Central government departments and policymakers
• Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and NHS commissioners
• Investors (private equity, infrastructure funds, institutional investors)
• Banks, lenders and financial institutions
• Management consultants and advisory firms
• Legal and regulatory professionals
• Charities and voluntary sector organisations
• Academic researchers and think tanks
• Trade associations and representative bodies
• Auditors and accountancy firms
• Insurance providers with exposure to social care
• Property and real estate developers involved in care infrastructure
• Workforce and recruitment agencies supplying children’s services staff
• Technology providers supporting children’s services operations

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