It could be like a game of tennis, with a child going back and forth between houses without any safety checks'

LAW LOOPHOLE CLAIM

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gang scandal, says he has little doubt the glaring gap is being pounced on by gangs who are able to exploit the law governing children’s residential care.

He said, under the Care Standards Act 2000, it is an offence for a placement to last longer than 28 days without the provider being registered with Ofsted.

Mr O’Rourke believes some unscrupulous operators are ruthlessly exploiting the four-week window in which registration is not mandatory by operating on a shorter-term basis.

The Department for Education disputed claims there is a loophole in child protection legislation.

But Mr O’Rourke said: “I have seen an uprise in unregistered providers because there’s a gap in the law. They are taking emergency placements from local authorities, and if it’s starting to get close to your 28 days, then they simply move the child to another house, because that is deemed a new placement, which means the 28-day clock starts again.”

This cycling of vulnerable children between unvetted properties allows providers to operate completely outside the law, he claimed.

It means no one checks the staff, their training, or their suitability, making it easy for predatory individuals to gain employment or even set up their own care-providing business.

The whistleblower said: “It could be like a game of tennis, with a child going back and forth between two different houses without any safety checks being needed.”

He claimed unregistered homes charge desperate local authorities as much as “six, seven, eight grand a week” to look after a single vulnerable child.

Outrageous

Mr O'Rourke added: “I can’t believe there’s a 28-day gap in [the law]...and it’s been there since the year 2000. It’s outrageous.”