Monday September 29th 2025
Scottish Borders Council headquarters
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
Scottish Borders Council is to push ahead with reducing the number of children cared for outside of the area after a £3m saving was achieved.
Members of full council last week endorsed the next stage of the Out of Area Placement (OOA) strategy.
The strategy aims to improve local services for children and young people, so they can live, learn, and be cared for in their own communities.
The term ‘out of area placement’ refers to children and young people being placed in care or educational settings outside of the area in which they or their families live, in this case the Scottish Borders.
At its peak in 2024, 72 children and young people from the Borders were placed out of authority, at an annual cost of £17 million.
During 2024/25, 16 young people returned from out of authority care, with a further 12 returning so far in 2025/26.
These returns span a range of provision types, including residential care, specialist education, and complex needs services. Over the same period, nine young people have required to be placed in new out of authority placements.
These measures have already achieved significant reductions in costs, with current annual expenditure now projected at £13.7 million.
The next phase of the strategy involves a partnership with the Vardy Foundation to develop high-quality residential and educational provision locally.
This includes the construction of new residential homes, supported accommodation, and specialist facilities for young people with complex needs.
Councillor Julie Pirone, SBC’s executive member for Education, Youth Development and Lifelong Learning, said: “This strategy sets out a vision where every child can live, learn and be cared for in the Borders. This is a really important piece of work, and I’m delighted that we are moving forward to the next phase with a full business case and delivery plan.”
Full council will consider the full business case and delivery plan for the next phase of the strategy in October 2025. The proposed investments are expected to further stabilise the budget and create sustainable local provision for the long term.
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