Nearly half of children in residential care were placed more than 20 miles from home, and two-thirds were placed outside their local authority. The shortage of foster care places, alongside the growing number of children with complex needs, is pushing up demand and costs. The NAO highlights concerns that profit-driven providers may choose children based on support needs or profit margins. Foster care capacity has also fallen, with a 4% drop in fostering households between 2020 and 2024 (9% excluding kinship arrangements). Residential care places cost around eight times more than foster placements.