Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy to match-fund the costs to local authorities of refugees and asylum seekers with central government funding.

The Government has committed £129 million to assist with local authority costs over years two-five of the Syrian Vulnerable Persons Resettlement scheme. This is in addition to the first 12 months of a refugee's resettlement costs, which are funded by central government using the Official Development Assistance budget. The grant to local authorities is not ring fenced, and can be used for example towards support for costs such as counselling, social care and other needs. Funding payments (per individual refugee) can be pooled and managed across all the refugees a local authority takes in.

For unaccompanied asylum seeking children, local authorities receive a daily rate towards the costs of care. Last year the Government significantly increased the funding it provides to local authorities caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking children (UASC) by 28% for those aged 16 and 17 and by 20% for those aged under 16. These rates are based on the information provided to the Home Office by local authorities about their actual expenditure in looking after UASC. We will be conducting a review of these rates in the coming months.

Refugees and asylum seekers also have access to health and education services, which are funded through the normal per capita funding routes. In addition, local authorities are also able to apply to the £140m Controlling Migration Fund which was announced by the Home Secretary in October 2016. This fund is intended to cover a broad range of costs associated with migration and local authorities have been encouraged to consider whether the fund could help with any short-term pressures as a result of recent arrivals of UASC.