CYP Now - National Transfer Scheme could be made compulsory unless councils ‘get behind’ rota system

The National Transfer Scheme (NTS) could be made compulsory if local authorities do not “get behind” a voluntary rota system to house unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC), the children’s minister has said.

Kent was unable to take on any more unaccompanied asylum-seeking children after hundreds of people arrived at Dover in May. Picture: Adobe Stock

Speaking at the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) annual conference, Vicky Ford urged local authority leaders to “consider if there is more that you can do to facilitate help for these young people”.

“I really would encourage you to try and get behind this system. Please keep going because otherwise we’ll have to go for the mandation and I think that will further increase pressure on local authorities,” she said, citing the results of a Home Office consultation on the scheme in which “a third of people were strongly against mandation, a third were really for it and the other third weren’t sure”.

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