An innovative contract worth up to £35 million has been approved to secure residential care capacity for children in care with complex needs.

Hampshire County Council has approved a 'proof-of-concept' contract involving pump priming and block contracting.

The council said that this type of contract has never been tried in children’s services and, therefore, represents a “genuinely new initiative to be piloted”.

A ‘proof-of-concept’ contract validates the feasibility of a proposed product idea, project plan, or other business goals.

Up to £35 million from the existing children and families budget for looked-after children’s placements will support the initiative over five and a half years.

HCC said it wants to increase residential placement capacity because of a lack of "quality" placements in the right place at the right time.

The council added businesses were making excess profits charging for this service.

To provide the mandatory service, the contract aims to support the market in developing single and multi-bed provisions to meet the needs of young people with the highest needs.

This placement will start in autumn 2024, with six months of mobilisation and a full year to pilot and evaluate the model.