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 859, what recent progress she has made on ending the use of hotels for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

The rise in the number of small boat crossings has placed significant pressures on local authority care placements for young people. 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.

We take the safety and welfare of those in our care seriously and the Home Office has robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure those in our accommodation are as safe and supported as possible as we seek urgent placements with a local authority.

The National Transfer scheme (NTS) transferred 3,148 children to local authorities with children’s services between 1 July 2021 and 30 September 2022. We are providing local authorities with children’s services with an additional £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.

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.