Children in Care: Asylum
(asked on 24th January 2017) - View Source
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help local authorities manage the arrival of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.
In July 2016 the Government launched the National Transfer Scheme for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) in order to ensure a more equitable distribution of UASC across the country and to prevent a small number of local authorities caring for a disproportionate number of UASC. In July 2016 we also significantly increased the funding we provide to local authorities who care for UASC by up to 33%. Further information on funding for local authorities can be found at the following link:
Since its launch the National Transfer Scheme has successfully transferred unaccompanied children away from local authorities whose children’s services are under pressure. We continue to engage with local authorities across the country to encourage wider participation in the scheme.