Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the oral contribution of the Minister for Immigration of 24 January 2023, Official Report, column 861, whether the additional funding for local authorities to support unaccompanied asylum-seeking children may be used to fund (a) host family, (b) social work and (c) other forms of support.

The additional funding for local authorities to support Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC) is part of a pilot scheme that was announced on 16 December 22. The pilot ran from 16 December 22 to 28 February 23.

The additional funding intends to repurpose the money currently used to pay for hotels housing UASC and empower local authorities to invest in infrastructure helping to build placement capacity. The funding is not prescriptive – it can be used by local authorities to invest where it provides the greatest benefit to the unaccompanied children in their care, therefore, it is for the local authority to determine where this funding is best spent.

The funding consists of a lump sum payment of £15,000 that accompanies the transfer of each unaccompanied asylum-seeking child to a Local Authority placement. To qualify for this funding the children must be transferred from a dedicated UASC hotel run by the Home Office or from the Kent Reception and Safe Care Service (RSCS). The pilot ran until the 28 February, and we are currently evaluating the impact, including developing case studies of best practice in how the funds have been used.