What is a council home?

Question

for answerers in Ol'Blighty.
Saw this short phrase in story about the obese kid that authorities are threatening to remove from home.
Is Council Home the same as what we would call in U.S.A "subsidized housing?"

Answer 1

1. Presumably you mean Connor McCreaddie.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6396457.stm

2. A "council home" (a children's home) is residential accommodation provided by the local authority (the municipal council) for children whose parents can not cope, and there is no other appropriate alternative. This is what the BBC article refers to when it mentions him being "taken into care".

3. The term "council house" is what we use to describe low-cost, rented public housing provided by the local authority.

4. Did you notice that it's a one-parent Irish family?