Hundreds of children facing Christmas in care

Data from the Department for Education show 554 children were being looked after by Sunderland City Council at of the end of March – with 380 (69%) facing Christmas in foster care, and 103 (19%) in secure units, children's homes or semi-independent accommodation.

The data also shows there were 216 children under the age of 10 being looked after by the council.

Nationally, more than 80,000 children are being looked after by their local authority.

The data says two-thirds are in the care of the council after suffering abuse or neglect – 334 in Sunderland.

Imran Hussain, director of policy and campaigns at Action for Children, said Christmas can be "lonely and isolating" for children in care.

He said: “Away from their families and friends, many will not have happy memories of Christmas.

“The best way to ensure more children have safe and happy Christmases is to fix the care system.

“We need to see a big switch from a system geared to putting children into care, to a system geared to preventing the need for children to go into care in the first place.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: “Local authorities have a responsibility to provide appropriate care for all children in their care.

“We are supporting them by investing millions to create high-quality, safe homes for children - and removing barriers and reducing delays in adoption and improving the recruitment of foster carers.”