Children's commissioner urges councils to support more young asylum seekers

The letter, sent to council leaders, chief executives and directors of children’s services by children's commissioner Anne Longfield, calls on them to “immediately pledge” their backing for national schemes to support refugee children.

In particular, Longfield wants to see councils help relieve pressure on so-called “gateway authorities” such as Kent, which has seen the number of unaccompanied children it cares for treble in the past year.

A voluntary scheme encouraging councils to support such local authorities has been in place since September 2015. From next month, this is to be co-ordinated through a national dispersal scheme, which the government is considering making compulsory for all councils.

Longfield said: “Authorities such as Kent have stretched every sinew to respond to the arrival of unaccompanied asylum seekers over recent years but it is well understood that they should not be expected to bear all the responsibility indefinitely.”

She also wants councils to pledge their support for another government scheme to take in 3,000 vulnerable children and their families from the Middle East and North Africa by 2020 as well as a government pledge to take in 20,000 Syrian refugees.

While acknowledging “the considerable financial pressure” councils face, Longfield said that “we have a real moral duty to support unaccompanied children who have come to this country”.

She also details in the letter how she saw the challenges faced by unaccompanied children first hand when visiting refugee camps in Calais and Jordan.

“Many have been separated from their parents by war, others have been orphaned,” she said. “Many have experienced terrible trauma and loss and many more are at serious risk of exploitation, sexual violence, disease and cold.”

Figures released last month by Kent County Council show that 92 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children have been placed with 32 councils over the past nine months under the voluntary scheme. As of May, the council had 900 unaccompanied children in its care.

Longfield added that there are around 300 children in Kent who “it would be in their best interests to move to another local authority”.

The Local Government Association (LGA) and the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) have been calling for assurances that councils will be effectively funded to ensure they can support more young asylum seekers.

David Simmonds, chair of the LGA's asylum, refugee and migration task group, said: “For the past 18 months, we have been calling for a co-ordinated national dispersal scheme to ensure children are able to access the services and support that they need.

“We have consistently stressed that placements for unaccompanied children need to be carefully managed to ensure that there is sufficient funding, care placements and support services available, that any risks of trafficking or children going missing are addressed, and pressures be more evenly spread across the country.

“It is imperative that any new dispersal scheme remains voluntary, allowing councils to ensure that they are able to meet the needs of these children with the resources available.”

Dave Hill, president of ADCS, said: “It is right that gateway authorities such as Kent should not bear the brunt of supporting the rising number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

“We face a humanitarian crisis that requires a humanitarian response from the entire sector and local authorities have been working hard in regional groupings to meet the needs of unaccompanied children.

“We must ensure that their best interests remain at the heart of all arrangements and that local services are safely able to meet any additional demand. Crucial to ensuring that arrangements are sustainable is highlighting any issues that might exist including the need for a range of suitable placement options to meet the needs of those who arrive as well as school places - our ability to influence the school system will be absolutely essential to this.”

Last month, the government announced enhanced daily rates for each unaccompanied child that councils take in. This includes an uplift from £95 to £114 for under-16s. The new rates will apply from July to March 2017 but were put in place immediately for any child taken from Kent.