THURROCK Council has agreed to spend £60 million to provide placements for the next five years for looked after children in the borough.

New contracts agreed with eight suppliers will see children cared for in supported accommodation, residential care and independent foster agencies.

Of the eight companies awarded contracts, just one is officially Thurrock-based (another does operate from East Tilbury) and it seems likely many children will be cared for outside the borough - as far away as Northamptonshire.

The council had initially also sought contracts for the provision of family assessment centres and for residential care for young people aged 16 and 17, but it was not able to find bidders who were compliant with the council's expectations.

The successful bidders who will be helping the council look after children in supported accommodation are Grays-based 'Everyone Everywhere Care Services whose offices are in the Queensgate Centre; Look Ahead Care and Support Limited from London; Net Pex Ltd, from London and Orchard House in Northampton.

Compass Children's Homes from Loughborough will provide residential care while Chrysalis Care Ltd from Sevenoaks, Young People at Heart Ltd whose registered office is in Weybridge and Caring Hearts Foundation Ltd from perivale in London have been recruited as independent foster agencies.

[L] https://www.youngpeopleatheart.org/ [L+] is registered in Weybridge but the company does have a strong presence in East Tilbury, where it employs local people through its office at the Thames Enterprise Centre, on Princess Margaret Road.

Thurrock's recent record of looking after children in its care was brought to national attention last year when it was revealed there had been a huge rise in the number of children it was supposed to be looking after 'going missing'.

A report to the council told how there were 670 recorded incidents in the previous 12 months when a child was found to not be at the place they were expected to be for any length of time, a major increase from 291 incidents the previous year.

The council declined to respond to media requests for information about what it was planning to do to rectify the problem.

At the time Paul Joseph, head of helplines for the nationwide charity Missing People, said: "We would always consider any situation of a young person going missing as very worrying."

And further concern about the calibre of care and support offered in Thurrock came from the NSPCC, whose spokesperson for the East of England said: "It is concerning when any child goes missing from care as we know they can be extremely vulnerable to grooming and exploitation.

"Many looked-after children will have been abused before being placed in care and need a great deal of attention and protection. It's therefore crucial that they have a caring and safe living environment with access to support."

The council has also experienced problems of looking after children who have been classified as unaccompanied asylum seekers.

In 2016 it conceded it had completely 'lost' ten children who it defined as being likely to have been smuggled or trafficked.

Also in 2016 the council's children's services was rated by Ofsted as "requires improvement" in all areas.

An inspection last year reported that progress had been made and in its last rating published in November 2019 the service was described as good.

Inspectors reported: "Since the last inspection in 2016, when children's services were judged to require improvement, an experienced senior leadership team has driven a sustained pace of improvement in most areas.

"Services for vulnerable children and their families in Thurrock are now good. Although some developments are recent, strong child-centred practice is evident across all teams and services.

"Skilled and committed social workers and other frontline practitioners listen to children and their parents. They take time to understand children's experiences. Staff act swiftly to prevent harm and provide support early.

"Current senior leaders have worked diligently to develop and support a culture of continuous learning and improvement. Stability of leadership and strong aspirations to 'get it right' for vulnerable children are key factors in their success.

"Action to support exploited and missing children is beginning to make a difference, but changes need to embed further to ensure that risks to children are fully understood and addressed."