The government has announced the rollout of a new model of children's social care in England, which will expand foster care, crackdown on profiteering and ensure "that vulnerable children locked in illegal children’s homes instead get the tailored, individual support they need".

Five new Regional Care Cooperatives (RCCs) have been confirmed and four new Fostering Hubs will be live before the end of the year.

The five new RCCs will be in London, the North East, East Midlands, West Midlands and Cheshire and Merseyside, each receiving up to £1.7 million in grant funding. They join two existing RCCs.

RCCs are partnerships between social workers, care providers and other key services like the police and health workers that operate across multiple local authority areas to deliver better outcomes for children in care.

These RCCS will cover more than 100 local authorities.

The four new Fostering Hubs will be in Black Country, North London, South East London and South West London, bringing the national total to 14.

A consultation has launched on new, simplified fostering standards, consolidating existing guidance into a single document with enduring relationships at the centre of every requirement.

Children and Families Minister Josh MacAlister said: "Too many children in care have been let down – placed miles from home in expensive, unsuitable settings, some even locked away, while unscrupulous providers have extracted excessive profits from a system meant to protect them.

"We are expanding the new model of children’s care, which means better supported foster families, real control over the children’s care sector for local authorities and personalised support for the most vulnerable children. This is what a care system that puts children first looks like."