Council quits child refugee scheme over funding shortfall

Nottinghamshire County Council has ended its involvement in the voluntary national transfer scheme to take on child refugees from other areas, and has also suspended its involvement in the "Dubs scheme", under which councils offer to take in children directly from overseas refugee camps.

The council's children and young people's committee made the decision after a report from officers calculated the cost of taking responsibility for children at £44,000 a year, including placement, social work and education costs.

But the Home Office funding only meets £30,231 of that cost, leaving the council around £14,000 short for every UASC they support.

Over the last year Nottinghamshire has accepted seven children through the national transfer scheme and three through the Dubs scheme. Of these, two have since turned 18 and are accessing support from the council's leaving care service.

The council said it has decided to suspend its involvement as it is expecting to be asked to support more children through the schemes this summer.

Under the national transfer scheme councils involved could be asked to accept up to a level of 0.07 per cent of its total 0-19 population.

"Over the last five years, we have looked after around 40 such asylum seekers," said children and young people's committee chair Philip Owen. 

"This has been at a cost to Nottinghamshire County Council taxpayers of more than half a million pounds.

"These other schemes, however, are voluntary and our decision to suspend Nottinghamshire's participation in them has been made to protect our budget. We are already under significant financial pressure to protect services across the board and not least the interests of vulnerable children and young people across Nottinghamshire who are and will remain our priority."

Nottinghamshire joins Derby City, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire as the fourth East Midlands council not to take part in the national transfer scheme.

Leicestershire County Council voted to leave the scheme last October, also citing a shortfall in central government funding.

In January, Dorset County Council announced it was considering pulling out of the scheme after estimating a £3.6m shortfall in government contributions.

In February, the Home Office said it had reduced the number of UASC allowed to enter England claiming that councils did not have enough capacity.

The Home Office has been contacted for comment.