Local councils forced to drastically increase spending on child refugees as ministers accused of 'paying lip service'

Unaccompanied asylum seeking children 'left in limbo' as councils struggle to provide support when faced with unprecedented funding pressures and growing demand, warns LGA

Government figures show local authorities spent more than £152m on unaccompanied asylum seeking minors in 2017/18 – an increase of 95 per cent on the £77m spent in 2014/15 (Getty)

Ministers have been accused of “paying lip service” to child refugees after it emerged local authorities have had to drastically increase spending on unaccompanied minors in their care amid a shortfall in funding from central government.

The Local Government Association (LGA) has warned that children who have made dangerous journeys to the UK are being left in limbo as councils struggle to provide support when faced with unprecedented funding pressures and growing demand.

Government figures show local authorities spent more than £152m on unaccompanied asylum seeking minors in 2017/18 – an increase of 95 per cent on the £77m spent in 2014/15. The number of asylum-seeking children and young people in care in England under 18 has meanwhile risen from 2,760 to 4,480.

An inspection report last year found that an unaccompanied minor costs a local authority approximately £55,000 a year – of which the Home Office provides £41,610 for children under the age of 16, and £33,215 for those aged 16 or 17.

Cllr David Simmonds, chair of the LGA’s asylum, migration and refugee task group, said councils were being driven to a position of having to choose between providing for refugee children and other duties such as caring for the elderly.

He added: “The government is paying lip service. We hear lots of bold speeches in parliament about the UK doing a good job of supporting child refugees, but a total lack of willingness to meet the actual costs of doing this.

“Despite promises, central government is still funding less than half of the costs to councils providing that support, and that’s why - with budgets extremely tight - we need central government to make good on their promises.”

There is also mounting concern about the regional variation of child refugee intake, as figures show the annual net expenditure on this group varies from £3,000 in Cumbria and £32,000 in Durham to £8m in Kent and £24m in Croydon.

Mr Simmonds urged the government to take a “more nationalised” approach, saying: “A minority of councils have a completely unsustainable number of children, and although other councils have stepped forward and begun to take in significant numbers of those children, they are becoming a lot more reluctant to do so. So these children are being stuck in a limbo.

“Councils need certainty. When a refugee children is taken in, the council will be responsible for supporting them until they’re 25. A little bit of money one year, maybe nothing the next, is no solution. There needs to be a commitment.”

The LGA also raised concern over delays in Home Office decisions on child asylum claims. Liz Clegg, who fosters unaccompanied asylum seeking children in Birmingham and runs a refugee charity in the city, said the asylum process exacerbated the issues.

She cited the case of a 12-year-old who claimed asylum after making the journey to the UK alone, and had to wait two-and-a-half years before having his first interview – causing him “extreme distress”.

“I knew him when he was in Calais. He was in a much better state then than now that he is now in the UK. He couldn’t understand why he was being ignored, and what the problem was,” she said.

“As a result, his placement broke down, his school place has broken down. He’s very angry, very tearful about it all. And this is very common. There needs to be a national strategy. At the moment there’s a lack of accountability.”

NGOs echoed the concerns. Judith Dennis, policy manager at the Refugee Council, said it was “paramount” that local authorities received adequate funding to properly unaccompanied minors who they have a duty to protect.

Paul Hook, head of campaigns at Refugee Action, meanwhile said the difficulties councils were experiencing in caring for unaccompanied asylum seeking children was symptomatic of an “entire system which is poorly designed, underfunded, and all too often fails those in desperate need”.

The LGA said the rising costs and challenges in providing support for child refugees are contributing to the soaring demand pressures on councils’ children’s services, which face a £3.1bn funding gap by 2025 just to continue operating at current levels.

The government is in the process of completing a review into the cost to councils of supporting unaccompanied children, which the LGA said should be sped up and must consider long-term funding arrangements.

A Home Office spokesman said: “We are very grateful to local authorities who provide care for a significant number of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children.

”We are currently reviewing the funding arrangements and over 50 local authorities have taken part. We hope to reach a conclusion soon, but it is right that we take time to thoroughly assess the evidence.

“We are committed to putting in place arrangements which work as well as possible for both the unaccompanied children and local authorities.”