Councils in England and Wales pay £1m a year to house child in private care home

Exclusive: Concerns raised as cost of providing specialist care for vulnerable children soars

• Providers charge what they want': how one council was forced to pay 50k a week

More than 20 councils in England and Wales have paid the equivalent of 1m a year or more to place a single child in a private children's home as the cost of specialised care soars, data released to the Guardian shows.

The body representing children's services directors in England urged the government to take profit out of children's social care as figures showed 24 councils are paying the equivalent of seven-figure sums.