Asylum seeking children: some real progress

This post is a bit behind events, but it has been a frenetic week.

I have posted before about the challenges Kent faces regarding the arrival of large numbers of Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC). Adult asylum seekers (and children accompanying their families) who arrive in Kent are dispersed across the country (with relatively few remaining in the South East) but UASC remain the responsibility of KCC. So far this year some 215 UASC have come into the care of the County Council, more than in the whole of either 2017 or 2018, and more than twice the level of the same time last year. In the month of May alone, 65 UASC arrived, the highest level for any month since the crisis summer of 2015.

With our reception centres and other services under severe and growing pressure, I wrote to the Home Secretary urging action. At the start of this week, I warned that the new quarantine regulations would add to the pressures because the requirements for lengthy isolation would stretch our reception facilities further.

On Monday, I spoke to the Immigration Minister Chris Philp, and shortly after this government announced a package of improved financial support for councils for UASC. The following day saw a remote meeting, in which Sue Chandler (Cabinet Member for Integrated Children's Services), KCC officers and I spoke with Minister Philp, Children's Minister Vicky Ford, their officials and representatives from local government and children's services bodies.

The government measures have raised the rates paid in support of 16 and 17 year old UASC for authorities with more than 0.07% UASC in their young people's population (the measure set for the purposes of the National Transfer Scheme, set up after the 2015 crisis but in abeyance in the last couple of years). There is also a 20% increase in the rates paid for the support of UASC care leavers (former children in care aged 25), with the Home Office support now extended to the age of 25. Alongside this government committed to give strong support to efforts which KCC has begun to place UASC young people with local authorities across the country.

This is very good news in many ways. The enhanced financial support is worth some £5 million to KCC, and hence to Kent taxpayers. The personal commitment of the ministers has been impressive, and it is to be hoped (and some of the early signs are encouraging) that we can make progress in placing UASC in other local authorities. There will be continuing dialogue with ministers on longer-term issues.

There are perhaps two caveats. The first is that, while we may well see placements with other local authorities in the immediate future, it is not clear whether the measures announced can get the National Transfer Scheme back up and running on a sustained basis. Secondly, if arrivals continue at a rapid rate over the summer (in spite of ministers' commitment to work with the French authorities to reduce the boat journeys across the Channel), then our services could soon be under pressure again. Still, we are in a much better position than seemed possible a week ago, or when I pre-recorded an interview for BBC Radio 4's File on 4 (you can find the programme here; my comments are in the closing minutes of this very informative episode). KCC's media release can be found here.