Sixty more foster carers will help reduce the overspend, the council says

Oxfordshire County Council currently has 77 children in privately-run residential homes or foster care - at a weekly cost of £1,754 for each child.

Despite there being 462 children in care, the agency placements eat up more than half of the £12.2m budget.

But by employing 60 more of its own foster carers, the council believes it can cut the overspend in three years.

It's essential that we make the most efficient use of our budget in the interests of both the children who depend on us and the taxpayer John Richards, interim head of children's services

The cost of keeping a child in council-run foster care is £385 per week.

John Richards, the council's interim head of children's services, said he hoped to reduce the yearly overspend to a saving by 2008/9.

He added that recruiting more foster carers would also reduce the council's dependence on residential homes.

"Although the staff in our homes have been successful in meeting the needs of children and young people in care, the evidence shows that children generally do better in foster care than in residential homes," he explained.

"It's also essential that we make the most efficient use of our budget in the interests of both the children who depend on us and the taxpayer.

"The best way we can do this is to develop our own in-house services so that we need to spend less on comparatively expensive external provision.