Key Points
- More than a dozen young people in Liverpool are staying in children’s homes that are not registered, with 14 children placed currently among 12 different providers.
- According to Liverpool City Council, these premises are located mostly in the northern part of the city such as Croxteth, Norris Green, Fazakerley, Old Swan, Kensington and Wavertree.
- There have been nine out-of-area placements of children in unregistered children’s homes associated with Liverpool until July 2026.
- Unregistered children’s homes are not regulated by Ofsted and it is illegal to manage or operate such home according to the Care Standards Act 2000.
- Private children’s services cost Merseyside councils £119.6 million in 2025/26 and some of these costs go to unregistered premises.
- Ofsted has stated that there would be a reduction in the performance rating of councils which use unregistered children’s homes and has managed to obtain its first successful prosecution against a provider in 2026.
Liverpool (Liverpool standard) September 07, 2026 – New information released by Liverpool City Council has identified six areas where unregistered children’s homes are most common, as the local authority moves to tackle what officials describe as problematic premises operating outside regulatory oversight. The disclosure comes amid growing national concern over the rise in unregistered provision, with Ofsted data showing cases in England increasing from 144 in 2020–21 to 680 in 2024–25 – a figure thought to be an underestimation.
According to the council, there are currently 14 children living in unregistered homes in Liverpool, spread across 12 different providers. The majority of these properties are secured on rental agreements as part of private tenancy arrangements, typically comprising two- to four-bedroom houses often accommodating a maximum of two children each. While the council did not publish exact addresses, it confirmed that the properties are predominantly located in the north of the city, naming Croxteth, Norris Green and Fazakerley, as well as Old Swan, Kensington and Wavertree.
Council scrutiny and data on placements
The latest figures were released ahead of a Liverpool Council children and young people scrutiny committee, where officials outlined how the authority is working with partners to identify and address unregistered settings. Liverpool Council data indicates that, up to July 2026, there have been nine out-of-area placements of children in unregistered homes, meaning children from other local authorities have been placed in properties within Liverpool that are not registered with Ofsted.
All children’s homes in England are required by law to register with Ofsted, and carrying on or managing a home without registration is a criminal offence under the Care Standards Act 2000. Unregistered children’s homes operate outside independent and regulatory oversight, meaning the children placed there have no assurance of safe or suitable care, the council has said.
Regional spending and national enforcement context
Collectively, Liverpool, Sefton, Knowsley and Wirral councils spent £119.6m on funding private children’s services in 2025/26, according to responses to Freedom of Information requests collated by local reporters. Over £120m was spent by local authorities across Merseyside in the last year on private children’s homes, with some of that money ultimately being paid to house children in unregistered, illegal settings, stock imagery and reporting accompanying the Liverpool Echo’s coverage noted.
Nationally, Ofsted opened 850 cases into suspected unregistered provision during the year to March 2026, concluding that 710 of them – 84% – involved settings that should have been registered. More than half of the referrals came from the local authorities placing children in those settings, highlighting the dual pressure on councils as both funders and regulators of placement quality. In July 2026, Ofsted announced that councils placing children in unregistered homes could see their children’s services performance ratings downgraded, and the inspectorate has carried out its first successful prosecution against an unregistered provider.
Council, police and Ofsted coordination
According to the local authority, working relationships across children’s services, council planning services and Merseyside Police have strengthened in response to tackling the emergence of unregistered children’s homes. Once agencies become aware of a looked-after child being placed in an unregistered home in the city, Ofsted is informed and, in some circumstances, individual and coordinated joint visits are completed, council officials said.
Firms lodging applications with Merseyside councils’ planning departments often do not show up on Ofsted records, creating a gap between planning activity and regulatory visibility. Cllr Liam Robinson, leader of Liverpool Council, supported by the city’s MPs, has made representations to the government to highlight the issue and call for stronger national levers to prevent unregistered provision.
Background to the development of unregistered children’s homes in Liverpool
The rise in unregistered children’s homes in Liverpool reflects a wider national trend driven by shortages of registered placements, particularly for children with complex needs, and the growth of private providers converting ordinary houses into care settings. Ofsted’s own data shows the number of registered children’s homes in England has grown – reaching 4,394 in 2025 – but much of that growth has been in smaller homes run by private organisations, with significant regional variation in availability. At the same time, regulatory activity data for 2025–26 shows one in five children’s homes without a registered manager in post in some regions, and a sharp rise in compliance notices and restrictions on admissions.
In Liverpool, the concentration of unregistered properties in the north of the city aligns with areas where private rented housing is more readily available and where planning applications for changes of use can be submitted without always triggering immediate Ofsted scrutiny. The council’s identification of Croxteth, Norris Green, Fazakerley, Old Swan, Kensington and Wavertree follows earlier media and investigative reporting on illegal children’s home operators in the north-west, including companies that have converted multiple houses into unregulated care settings. National investigations have found some unregistered placements charging very high weekly fees, with councils sometimes relying on such accommodation in emergencies when registered homes are unavailable.
Prediction: how this development could affect children, families and local communities
If the current pattern continues, children placed in unregistered homes in Liverpool are likely to face greater risks of inconsistent care, weaker safeguarding oversight and reduced access to therapeutic support compared with those in registered provision, according to Ofsted’s stated position that unregistered homes are illegal and unsafe. For families, the lack of transparency around where and how children are being housed may undermine confidence in the local authority’s ability to protect vulnerable young people, particularly when placements are made out of area and properties are not publicly listed.
For local communities in Croxteth, Norris Green, Fazakerley, Old Swan, Kensington and Wavertree, an increased concentration of unregistered homes could intensify concerns about anti-social behaviour, pressure on local services and uncertainty over who is responsible for monitoring these properties, especially where planning use and care registration do not align. If Ofsted follows through on its warning to downgrade councils that place children in unregistered homes, Liverpool City Council could face tighter external scrutiny and potential rating impacts, which in turn could affect funding, recruitment and public confidence in children’s services. Conversely, stronger joint working between the council, police and Ofsted – as described by officials – may lead to more frequent enforcement action, closures of illegal settings and a gradual shift towards more registered, inspected placements over time.
