Thread by @MartinBarrow

CareTech, one of the biggest private providers of children's homes and foster care, has published its annual financial report today. Prepare to get very angry (thread, 1/).

While the rest of the country has been struggling during the pandemic, CareTech has been growing fast and earning lots of money. Profits have risen 20% to £60 million. 2/

Last year it charged local authorities £430 million for care of vulnerable children and young adults.

£430 million. 3/

Its children's homes earned profits of almost £70 million. 4/

£8 million of profit came from its foster care agencies. 5/

It paid £10.7 million in interest and £13 million in dividends to shareholders.

More than enough to fund children's services in a couple of our biggest local authorities for at least one year. 6/

Stuff that makes me really angry: the chairman and chief executive earning almost £1 million each. Again. 7/

Executive bonuses total almost £1 billion. For a year in which more children needed care as families struggled during the pandemic. 8/

For the record, directors and their families also shared almost £1.6 million in dividend payments. Because... why not? 9/

Privatisation of children's services is bad for children and families, and bad for taxpayers. Business loves it. So do organisations like @theNAFP and #ICHA and their lobbyists. 10/

This is a real challenge for the #carereview Private business is exploiting a precarious financial ecosystem and children and families are paying the highest price through abuse, neglect, poor health and lives cut short. 11/

Apologies... that should be £1 million, obvs.

Link to the annual report here
londonstockexchange.com/news-article/C…