Council paid £60k a week for ‘wholly unsuitable’ place for vulnerable girl

Court of protection orders education secretary to explain national crisis' in secure placements for children with complex needs

A council in England has paid 60,000 a week - the equivalent of 3.12m a year - for a wholly unsuitable" children's home placement for an autistic teenager with a mild learning disability.

The judge hearing the girl's case was so appalled that he ordered the education secretary, Nadhim Zahawi, to explain the government's position on what he called a national crisis" - the severe shortage of secure placements for vulnerable children with complex needs.