Refund of millions wanted for cost of care for asylum seeking children
Local authorities including Hammersmith and Fulham claim they are millions of pounds out of pocket after looking after more than 3,500 vulnerable unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
They took their case to the House of Lords on Wednesday along with nine other local authorities.
The councils; Hammersmith and Fulham, Birmingham, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kent, Liverpool, Manchester, Oxfordshire, Solihull and West Sussex have spent more than £100million in just the last two years caring for young asylum seekers who arrive in the country with no-one to care for them.
The government owes the authorities more than £30million in unmet costs, leaving some no choice but to increase council tax or cut services.
Ministers, government officials, refugee and children's charities, MPs, Peers and councillors from the areas involved were invited to the House of Lords on 23 April to discuss the challenges of supporting thousands of unaccompanied asylum seeking children.
Unaccompanied asylum seeking children represent approximately 10 per cent of all children in care. Often, they are youngsters who have left their homes in violent and traumatic circumstances and are in poor health.
Save the Children UK is one of the charities supporting calls for proper funding from government for the support of UASC.
Assistant programme director for Save the Children’s protection team Terry Smith said: "Many separated asylum seeking children arrive in this country alone and deeply traumatised and the care and protection they receive from Local Authorities is key to their survival. They are children first and foremost and their welfare can no longer be compromised by funding constraints."
The Chairman of the LGA Task Group on Asylum and Refugees Cllr Roger Lawrence said: "There isn't a cigarette paper between the views of the LGA and the affected councils. The LGA has had a policy that councils providing services to asylum seekers should be refunded all reasonably incurred costs. We are continuing to press the government to ensure that this happens, and quickly."
April 24, 2008