Home Office directs 29 local authorities to provide care placements for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children

A Home Office Minister has written to 29 unnamed local authorities with children’s services directing them to provide care placements for unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

The letter from the Minister for Safe and Legal Migration, Kevin Foster, is the latest development since the Government announced in November 2021 that it was making the National Transfer Scheme for UASC mandatory for local authorities with children’s services.

The Home Office said making the scheme mandatory was in recognition that, at that time, many councils did not accept the transfer of children, “resulting in significant pressure on the few which did”.

In December, the government directed 177 local authorities to take part in the mandatory scheme, meaning they received legal notices setting out that they would now be required to accept transfers of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

“Since then, there have been tangible improvements both for the vulnerable children and the local authorities already involved, including youngsters being moved from hotels to permanent accommodation,” the Home Office said.

Kevin Foster said: “I am grateful for the continued support of local authorities who have already stepped up to help more unaccompanied asylum seeking children.

“Mandating the scheme has already led to additional placements but we know there is more work to be done.”

The Home Office said it takes a range of factors into account when deciding the number of children that will be allocated to a specific local authority, including the proportion of UASC.

A local authority will not need to accept UASC where this cohort already makes up 0.07% or more of their general child population. When numbers fall below this level, they will begin to receive children through the mandatory scheme, the Home Office said.