A FORMER respite centre for adults with learning disabilities is to be turned into a children’s home in an effort to provide more local placements. 

A decision to close the respite home in Caldicot, which hadn’t been used for its original purpose since the early stages of the Covid pandemic in April 2020, was taken by Monmouthshire County Council’s cabinet in September last year. 

The house, in a residential area, had been leased from the Pobl housing association and the council will now enter into a new 10-year lease to operate it as children’s home for up to four “well-matched children” in a “homely environment”. 

Councillor Ian Chander, the cabinet member for social services, said he was “very pleased” to put the plan before the cabinet following a decision in March to establish a children’s home in Monmouth.  

The council is establishing its own children’s homes to reduce the cost of having to purchase places “on spot” and out of county, as well as to comply with new Welsh regulations which will prevent the use of for profit care providers. 

The Green Party member of the Labour-led cabinet said: “It will provide significantly better care for some of our most vulnerable looked after children and will be closer to their families and communities and cost less than our currently out-sourced placements.” 

The business case, approved by the cabinet, has calculated on a “cautious” 75 per cent occupancy rate running the home will save the council’s children’s services £250,000 a year with it planned to be in use from March 2025. 

Cllr Chandler said: “I’m delighted we are delivering one of our social care commitments at pace.” 

Pobl will apply for Welsh Government funding to cover conversion costs and Cllr Chandler said as it had already been leased by the council it will be brought into use without having to use the borrowing powers agreed in April to set up children’s homes. 

A report said children’s services has identified the need for at least 12 further standard placements and the homes in Caldicot and Monmouth will provide eight of them. 

It is also working to increase the number of foster placements in Monmouthshire.  

At the end of March there were 199 children looked after by Monmouthshire County Council, with 45 placed with independent fostering agency carers and 37 in residential placements.