Mr. Bernard Gloster:

I do not wish to overstate the term "bespoke" or to make it sound like something we consider adequate. We have some bespoke settings which are very much adequate and heavily resourced and, in fact, would cost more to run than private residential centres, so they are appropriate. We had roughly 127 people the last time I counted - the number varies between 120 and 150 - in bespoke arrangements. While many of those arrangements will prove to be quite good, we are now moving on to focus on those of the big private providers, having done the procurement. Within that there is a group of young people who require staff to be with them. Because we cannot ground them or connect them safely to any suitable care placement for any prolonged period, they often end up moving between a variety of settings, including hotels, over a period of months. As far as I am aware, Tusla never places a child in something like a hotel without appropriate staffing, oversight and supervision, but that does not make the arrangement appropriate.