All of us require care at some point in our lives. While never privatised as such, care is heavily reliant on public money, even as new private for-profit ownership models grow.

It is increasingly likely that the care we receive will be provided by a private equity-backed provider. Nine of the ten largest childcare providers are backed by private equity firms, looking to profit from high childcare costs and increases in public funding.

The Government is right to fund childcare — without it, costs would consume half of the average wage. But when this support flows to profit-driven private equity firms, poorer areas miss out, facing lower-quality provision or a lack of places entirely.

Private equity firms create complex financial structures. They run up debts and minimise tax liabilities. The cost of interest payments per bed for the five largest private-equity-backed care home providers is £102 per week, amounting to around 16 per cent of the weighted average weekly fee for residential care in the UK. These are often payments to related companies, suggesting hidden profit extraction.

There is an alternative. To eliminate profiteering, local authorities could collaborate to establish in-house provision or workers’ cooperatives.