Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the potential merits of moving unaccompanied children from hotels and placing them in alternative safe accommodation.

The rise in dangerous small boats crossings means there are significant challenges providing local authority care places for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC). Out of necessity, and with the best interests of the child in mind, we have had no alternative but to temporarily use hotels to give some unaccompanied children a roof over their heads whilst local authority accommodation is found. The safety and wellbeing of those in our care is our primary concern. Robust safeguarding and welfare procedures are in place at all temporary hotels to ensure all children and minors are safe and supported as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

We are clear that we must end the use of hotels as soon as possible. The National Transfer scheme (NTS) has seen 3,148 children transferred to local authorities with children’s services between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2022. This compares to 739 children transferred in the same time period in the previous year.

We are providing local authorities with children’s services with £15,000 for every eligible young person they take into their care from a dedicated UASC hotel, or the Reception and Safe Care Service in Kent, by the end of February 2023.