CYP Now - Concerns over trafficking of lone Albanian children arriving in Kent

The number of unaccompanied Albanian minors arriving in Kent on small boats across the Channel is “unprecedented” and represents a “new problem” for Kent County Council (KCC), local authority leaders say amid concerns these young people are being targeted by people traffickers.

Unaccompanied young people arrive across the Channel into Dover, KCC said. Picture: Adobe Stock

Over the summer, the council has taken 80 Albanian young people into its care who arrived unaccompanied and not wishing to claim asylum.

According to the council, the minors “frequently go missing” because they are either seeking work or being trafficked by criminal gangs, CYP Now has learned.

The council also says that these young people don't qualify for the government's National Transfer Scheme (NTS) because they are not seeking asylum so cannot be dispersed to other local authorities across England, meaning they remain in the care of Kent.

Sarah Hammond, director of children’s services at Kent County Council (KCC), said: “There has been an unusual and unprecedented number of arrivals from Albania including minors.

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