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Kent 'days away' from being unable to care for more asylum-seeking children

3 mins read Social Care
Kent County Council is “days away” from declaring it unsafe to receive any more asylum-seeking children (UASC) arriving through the port of Dover, its director of children’s services (DCS) has warned.
Matt Dunkley, DCS at Kent County Council, has called for urgent intervention. Picture: Norfolk County Council
Matt Dunkley, DCS at Kent County Council, has called for urgent intervention. Picture: Norfolk County Council

In an interview with CYP Now, Kent DCS Matt Dunkley said that the council needs urgent government and local authority support to deal with a recent influx of migrant boats, many containing children and young people, arriving at Dover.

Since the start of the year, the council has become responsible for 420 unaccompanied children, 275 of whom have arrived since May, Dunkley said, highlighting concerns over the government’s National Transfer Scheme (NTS) which is designed to disperse unaccompanied migrant children across the country.

Just 20 beds were available in the local authority’s reception centres for UASC aged 16 and 17 on Thursday, he added.

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