A report into the deaths and serious injury of children in care, which the government tried to keep secret, uncovered evidence of stabbings, sexual exploitation and a lack of suitable placements.
The nine-page review examined 89 instances of death or serious harm among the most vulnerable young people in society over a two-year period to June 2020.
It found a “high number of vulnerable females” were victims of rape, sexual assault or child sexual exploitation, while boys in care were victims or perpetrators of stabbing or assaults.
The report concluded that suitable care placements were often “impossible” to secure and that many older children were put in unregulated accommodation without residential staff.
For two years the government refused to make the report public.