PARENTS could be required to pay when their children are taken into care.

Bromley Council hopes to start charging when young people or their parents ask for the youngster to be taken into care.

They are sometimes asked to do this when there have been problems in a family and they choose to stop living together.

Portfolio holder for children and young people Councillor Ernest Noad said: "It's about a group of people who won't stay at home because they don't get on with their parents.

"Subject to conditions and exemptions, we don't see why the local authority and taxpayers should pay.

"Parents would have to pay for them if they were at home, so why should the taxpayer pay?"

Social services have to look after minors if they are asked to do so but at the moment parents do not have to pay for this.

The council also wants to charge parents if a court decides a child should not return home.

However, this would not apply where a protection order was issued by a court to take them into care or where vulnerable youngsters are involved.

Other exemptions include when a young person is being looked after by the council on behalf of the police or for aftercare under the Mental Health Act.

Parents claiming income support, child or working tax credits or jobseeker's allowance would not have to pay.

There would be a formula to estimate how much parents would have to contribute to the cost of looking after their child.

If parents have more than £200 left each week after living costs, they would then have to pay 15 per cent of their disposable income for having one child in care, 20 per cent for two and 25 per cent for three or more.

The plan to introduce the charges was approved by Cllr Noad on July 22.

The scheme is expected to start in the autumn.

There will be a review of the charges after a year.

It is estimated around 62 parents could currently be charged and this would bring in £113,200 a year.