Housing children in asylum hotels is 'unlawful’, judge rules
Emily Harle
Friday, July 28, 2023
The High Court has ruled that Kent County Council and the Home Secretary breached legal obligations to provide appropriate accommodation for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
In a judgment issued yesterday (27 July), Justice Chamberlain ruled that Home Secretary Suella Braverman acted unlawfully by routinely accommodating newly arrived unaccompanied children in Home Office-run hotels.
Justice Chamberlain condemned the practice as "exceeding the proper limit of the Home Secretary’s powers".
The judgment also ruled that Kent County Council had acted in breach of the Children Act 1989 by failing to accommodate all unaccompanied children seeking asylum upon notification of their arrival.
Justice Chamberlain said: “Ensuring the safety and welfare of children with no adult to look after them is among the most fundamental duties of any civilised state. In the United Kingdom, this duty is imposed on local authorities.”
The legal challenge was launched by charity Every Child Protected Against Trafficking UK (ECPAT UK) over the practice of housing unaccompanied children in Home Office-run hotels, which the charity argued was an “unlawful” violation of the protections laid out in the Children Act 1989.
More than 400 children living in Home Office-run hotels have gone missing, with the whereabouts of 154 still unknown, according to recent Home Office figures. It is believed that some have been victims of child trafficking and exploitation.
Patricia Durr, chief executive of ECPAT UK, said: “This judgement powerfully reaffirms the primacy of the Children Act 1989 and our child welfare statutory framework which does not allow for children to treated differently because of their immigration status.
“It remains a child protection scandal that so many of the most vulnerable children remain missing at risk of significant harm as a consequence of these unlawful actions by the Secretary of State and Kent County Council.”
Marieke Widman, policy and practice advisor at the Children’s Society branded the ruling as a “victory”, saying: “We welcome the Court's judgement, calling out the Home Office's unlawful approach. These children, far from their homes and without guardians, have been unjustly denied safety.
“As we await the Home Office's plans to remedy these failures, especially given the new Illegal Migration Act 2023, we stand firm that all children in the UK deserve protection."
John Pearce, president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, said: "We take our duty to provide support to these children and young people extremely seriously, however, our capacity to do so is limited by a lack of adequate funding and a national shortage of placements.
"Councils need the support of government to address the placement sufficiency challenges we all face as well as the increasing costs of placements and profiteering from the care of vulnerable children"
He added that ADCS remains committed to working with the Home Office and Department for Education to find a sustainable solution to these challenges.
Kent County Council has accepted the judge’s ruling, with Roger Gough, council leader, and Sue Chandler, cabinet member for integrated children’s services, saying: “Since arrivals of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children began to escalate sharply in 2015, we have emphasised to the Home Office, our partners and publicly that the National Transfer Scheme (NTS) must be operated in a mandatory and effective way before Kent can ensure compliance with its statutory duties."
They added that Kent has long argued for other local authorities to accept their “fair share” of vulnerable children into their care within specified timescales, and that the Home Office must be prepared to use its powers to enforce this.
“Sadly, the NTS is currently not operated in such a way to achieve this and this results in a small number of local authorities being overwhelmed and ultimately affecting a whole range of vulnerable children,” they said.
“The safety and welfare of all the children referred into our care continues to be an absolute priority for Kent County Council.”
The Home Office has been contacted for comment.
