CHILDREN’S rights campaigners urged Education Secretary Gavin Williamson today to extend his new ban on children being placed in unregulated care accommodation to those aged 16 and 17.

It was announced by the Department for Education (DfE) that the ban for children under 16 will come into force in September, after Mr Williamson launched a consultation on the issue last year.

The consultation was launched after the death of Jacob Andrew Bates, a 17-year-old from Derbyshire who took his own life in 2017 while he was in an unregulated care setting. He had autism and suffered from mental health issues.