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Kent Council is prepared to name and shame a dozen local authorities in London and the South East which are continuing to use the county as a "dumping ground" for looked-after children.

The threat came from Peter Gilroy, Kent social services director and chairman of the area child protection committee. He has written to children's minister Margaret Hodge outlining his concerns for the welfare of up to 1,500 children placed in Thanet by other authorities.

The situation is so acute that Kent has pledged to fund appeals against councils which refuse planning permission for residential care homes.


Gilroy said tragedy had already struck and feared it could be repeated. In one case a premature baby placed in the county had died without health or social services being informed the child was there.

He said: "Thanet is the 62nd most deprived authority in the UK but it has 35 children's homes. That's like going to one of the poorest London boroughs and dumping kids there.

"How can you place a vulnerable child who may have been abused into a poor setting three hours away from London? It's very difficult to monitor a child that distance away."

However, in an unpublished report on looked-after children in Kent for the Greater London Association of Directors of Social Services (Gladss), most social workers felt placement needs of children in Kent "were fairly well met." But access to education, counselling, mental health services and resources for other special needs needed improving.


Hannah Miller, Gladss co-ordinator for children's issues, said some London boroughs were struggling to cope with large rises in the number of looked-after children, while Kent had 33 of the 120 national fostering services. "London boroughs are working hard to reduce their reliance on Kent but it has to appreciate our problems too," she said.

The Department for Education and Skills said placement stability of looked-after children should be improved by the £93m Choice Protects grants over the next two years.